Finding Myself In You
by blacksyryn
Summary: Transported from her home into the hands of Akatsuki, she didn't know what to expect. But never in her wildest dreams did she expect to find HIM. GaaraxOC. First Naruto fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story starts after the Sand ninja leave Konoha after the failed mission to get Sasuke from Orochimaru.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto…meh.

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**Chapter 1: So It Begins**

"Come on!" the men in the crowd yelled loudly. "Take it off and show us the goods!" Frightened, the girl on the platform held the tattered kimono closer to her bruised body. Her face held traces of tears as she backed away from the fat auctioneer. She saw him raise his fist and prayed that this time he would hit her hard enough to kill her or at least hit her face so she could black out or something. Instead, he grabbed the front of her kimono and pulled. Closing her eyes tight, she held on tighter to the kimono. Every muscle in her body shouted against the injustice of being auctioned to the highest bidder. All she wanted to do was go home, but that was impossible. Her home and her friends were far away and she didn't even know how she came to be in this strange country. Tears spilled over as she remembered the events that led her to this point.

_**Flashback**_

The girl's head ached unlike anything she had ever experienced. Reaching up to massage her temples, she found that she couldn't because her hands were tied behind her back. A rough blanket covered her and a woven mat lay under her. The walls around her were actually made of cloth and the sound of the wind blowing outside confirmed the fact that she was in a tent. Slowly, so that she didn't aggravate her headache any more than necessary, the girl sat up. At that moment the tent flap lifted up and five people walked in. They sat in a circle around her and held their hands in prayer-like positions.

_What the hell is going on here?_ she thought to herself. Suddenly, the people started to sweat and she felt a huge pain rip through her back. Screaming and forgetting about her headache, she raised herself to her knees and stared at the vaguely familiar dark haired man in front of her. He simply stared back with his equally dark eyes and kept his hands in that stupid prayer position. She didn't know how she knew this, but the girl knew that if she could get this man to drop his hands, the pain would stop. She sat on her heels and tossed her head, staring at the man the entire time. As she did this, she noticed that his gaze dropped to her chest and belly and she realized that the black T-shirt she usually wore had been ripped in several places and that the holes showed most of her breasts and her belly, including her silver bellybutton ring.

She quickly formulated a plan that would use his perverseness to her advantage, but before she could implement it, the pain increased and she dropped to the floor of the tent once more. It felt as if a million needles were piercing the flesh of her back. But it wasn't an all over type of pain. Her training as an Escrimador, or Escrima Master** (1),** ensured that she could tolerate pain that affected her whole body and—to a point—localized pain. But this pain was different. It seemed to be centered on two parallel vertical lines about 15 inches long on her upper back.

Determined that she wouldn't scream, the girl pressed her forehead to the floor. That's when she felt the familiar weight of her _anting-anting_ around her neck.** (2)** She focused and thought of the amulet her father had given her. She mentally traced the characters etched into the stone. "Kinabuhi," she whispered. "Life." **(3)** She looked up at the man again and saw that his eyes were confused, as if he didn't understand what she was saying. Then she heard the chanting. Turning her head, she gazed at the others in the circle. The pain wasn't lessening, but her concentration strengthened and she pushed the pain into a small corner of her mind. She knew this language…somehow. She closed her eyes and bright light flashed against her eyelids. When she opened them again, the chanting was still going on. Only this time, she understood what they were saying.

"Bind this monster, this demon in human form. Bind this abomination, let her flesh be torn. Bind this monster, this demon…"

"Monster?" she whispered, ignoring the looks she was receiving. "Demon? What have I done to you that you do this? Why do you treat me this way? Answer me!"

The men kept chanting and ignoring her demands. This went on for hours it seemed to the girl. Finally, some sort of signal was made and lines of fire made its way down her right shoulder. She felt and smelt burning flesh and realized that it was her own. As if in response to the burning on her right shoulder, her amulet started to heat up. Both she and the men surrounding her were surprised at this and the girl screamed as more heat traveled to her left shoulder, burning the flesh and branding her there as well. The girl fell to the floor once more as the men finally got up and stood over her.

"What do we do with her now, Itachi-sama?" the youngest of them asked, ignorant—or ignoring—of the fact that the girl was still conscious and listening in on the conversation.

"I don't care," Itachi, by no means ignorant but easily ignoring the girl's presence, answered in a smooth, bored voice. "I don't see why you didn't kill her while she was unconscious. That binding was too troublesome and a waste of my time." Indeed it had taken longer than the dark haired missing nin had thought it would. The girl's strength of will was impressive, but futile in the face of Itachi's power.

"You know what Akatsuki plans, Itachi-sama," the biggest and ugliest of the five reminded. "We'll need it later."

The youngest looked down at the girl and poked her with his toe. "But that doesn't answer what we do with her now."

"Leave her," Itachi said, putting on his long coat. "We need to get going."

"But what if she doesn't survive? This _is_ the desert, Itachi-sama," the boy asked again.

"She'll survive," the missing nin responded. He looked at the girl and almost smiled at the venom in her eyes. "The seal won't let her die. But if you're that worried, then give her to the first trader you see."

The ugly one spoke again, "And where will you be off to?"

"I feel the need to catch a fox," was the reply.

Intrigued, the man questioned further. "Want company?"

"Why not," Itachi answered.

_**End Flashback**_

So now, the girl was here. Standing before a crowd of perverted men in nothing but a piece of cloth that pretended to be a kimono. Whatever those bastards had done to her had depleted her strength, so that she couldn't fight back when she was handed to the fat trader/auctioneer without a second glance. Even now, she couldn't fight back, not unless she wanted to do so naked. And considering her two new pieces of body art were still swollen and bleeding—if not infected—she _really _didn't want to fight nude. But the trader-turned-auctioneer kept his grip on the fabric and the girl heard it start to tear. She screamed bloody murder and kicked against the man. All of a sudden, the tent flap opened and three new people joined the gawking crowd. The trader let go of her and turned to sum up the new potential buyers. The girl did the same from her position on the floor of the platform, holding the fabric even closer to her body.

The group that had just entered the large tent looked young. Temari, the oldest, looked around and narrowed her eyes when she saw the platform with its shivering occupant. Kankuro was the tallest one and was dressed in his customary black and had purple face paint on. When he locked gazes with the girl on the stage, his eyes widened slightly before filling with anger as he figured out what was going on. The third person was the shortest, but at the same time commanded strength. As he looked around impassively, his red hair ruffled in an imaginary wind. He looked at the girl on the platform and zoomed in his attention to her right shoulder, which was revealed by the skimpy kimono. He blinked as he saw a raw and red tattoo on the bicep. The characters didn't look like kanji or any other writing form native to his land. But because his father, the former Kazekage, had been firm in his son's education, Gaara knew that the characters on the girl's arm was from an alphabet called _alibata_ and the word formed by the marks was _yawa_. **(4)**

Demon.

"You've made it in the nick of time!" the trader yelled, oblivious to the danger he was in. "I was just about to sell this foreign girl! Now, how much is the opening bid?"

"Opening bid?" Temari choked.

"Sell?" Kankuro said at the same time.

They both looked at their brother when he raised his hand.

"Your lives," the young sand ninja stated.

The trader shook his head and looked confused. "You can't bid our lives young man! What I want is money! This girl is prime for anything, can't you see that?"

Gaara could see that the girl was injured, shivering, and deathly afraid of what might happen to her. "If you give me the girl, I will spare your lives," he said calmly.

Kankuro stepped back and Temari nodded, proud of her brother for doing the right thing. "Slavery is illegal in the Country of Wind," she called out to the trader as well as the men assembled in the tents. "As a shinobi from the Hidden Village of Sand, we have the right to arrest all of you. And if you do not comply with our demands, we have the right to kill you."

"Now see here," the trader called back. "I've been doing my business through these parts for 15 years! I have the Kazekage's personal promise to allow me to sell my wares when I am in Wind Country! This girl is mine to do with as I please and she is _my _property!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you have been caught conducting a slave auction in our territory," Gaara calmly announced. "And as for the Kazekage's promise to you, it isn't worth anything anymore. The old Kazekage is dead." As the trader ranted about lies and censorship, no one noticed the sand packed floor of the tent winding around everyone's legs except the three shinobi and the terrified girl on the platform. "Now will you give me the girl in exchange for your lives?"

"The girl is mine!" the trader insisted. "She is one of my properties and I have the right to sell my properties! I will talk to the Kazekage and personally have you all stripped of your positions!"

What little patience Gaara had melted away. He raised his open hand in front of him and stated, "I _am_ the Kazekage, _baka_._ Sabaku Kyuu!_" The men started to scream as the sand around their feet quickly covered their bodies. "_Sabaku SouSou!"_ Immediately, the sand crushed the men and sprayed blood everywhere inside the tent. Gaara's sand shielded him from the blood, while Temari and Kankuro hid behind her fan. Releasing the men, Gaara walked to the girl on the platform.

The girl looked over at the bodies and then down to her arms. They were covered in blood. Feeling warmth trickle down her cheeks, she touched it and realized that her tears were mixing with the blood on her face. One hysterical laugh bubbled from her as she stared at her fingers and then at the boy who had saved her. Forgetting about the kimono, she launched herself at him and kissed him full on the lips, mixing her tears and the blood on them. "Thank you," she whispered before falling into a faint. Gaara caught her before she hit the floor and turned to his siblings. Ignoring the fact that he was holding a naked woman covered in blood that wasn't her own and that his own mouth was smeared with the blood.

"Let's go home."

**

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A/N:**

**(1) **Escrima is one of the three major martial arts of the Philippines. It is a complete system of self-defense, encompassing both armed and unarmed combat.

**(2) **Anting-anting is a charm or amulet made from stone. It is considered a means of protection from danger as well as something that can distract or confuse and opponent. In this instance I used it to focus my character's energy and concentration along with the _oracion_.

**(3) "**Kinabuhi" is Cebuano for "life". It also substitutes for "being", "blood", or "existence". Cebuano is the dialect spoken on Cebu, an island of the Philippines.

**(4) **Alibata is a phonetic alphabet much like katakana or hiragana that was once used by Filipinos before (and to an extent during) the Spanish settlement of the islands. "Yawa" is Cebuano for "demon." Don't ask why Gaara knows alibata or Cebuano…he just does!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…sigh…

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Chapter 2: New Lands, Familiar Faces

The girl woke up to the feeling of a damp towel on her forehead. She cracked open her eyes to see a blonde girl sitting on the side of her bed. The girl looked young, but it might be because of the four ponytails her hair was in. _Who wears ponytails like that? _she thought. She winced as she felt her upper arms throb. _I'm going to murder those bastards who did this to me!_ The sound of a door opening and two pairs of footsteps caused her to shut her eyes and pretend to be asleep for a little while longer.

"Temari," a cold male voice asked, "how is she?"

The girl, Temari, answered, "She's better now that I've cleaned her wounds. She should get her money back from whatever idiot inked her though."

"Why?" another voice, also male, inquired.

The girl felt Temari gently prod a bandage above her newly acquired _yawa_ (1) tattoo. "Whoever did this didn't use a needle," Temari explained. "It was branded into her skin with fire. Blood filled into the burn so quickly that instead of a white scar, which is usually what happens when an animal is branded, she'll have a red scar/tattoo. Kind of like yours, Gaara."

_Gaara,_ the girl thought. _I've heard that name somewhere before._

"Hn," was the reply.

"But when will she wake up?" the other male asked. "We need to know if she has any talents that can help us. Sound nin are constantly testing our borders. If she can help us, then she should stay. If not—" (2)

"She stays," the owner of the cold voice interrupted.

"But—" the protest was quickly cut off. The girl listening to the conversation was curious to know why, but fear kept her eyes closed.

"Leave. I will watch her now."

"But, Gaara," Temari said. "You have paperwork to do."

"You do it," came the response. "I have no intention of going through all of that. Now leave."

The girl silently prayed for one of them to refuse…she had finally remembered where she had heard the name "Gaara" before and she didn't want to be left alone with the Sand nin. She had no way of knowing exactly _when_ she was placed in this land and didn't want to anger the volatile teen. _If he hasn't met Naruto yet, I'm dead!_

"You can stop pretending you're asleep now," Gaara said as he sat down next to the bed. The girl let out an "Eep!" and scrunched up on the other side of the bed as she felt Gaara's arm reach toward her. But he only took the towel off of her forehead. Slowly, she opened one eye then the other as Gaara just sat impassively staring at her.

_Oh, boy,_ she thought to herself. _He's even yummier in person!_ (3) The Sand ninja's dark red hair matched the kanji tattoo over his left eye and his clear green eyes strangely reminded her of spearmint chewing gum. An involuntary giggle escaped her and she cringed when she saw the boy frown.

"What is so funny?" he asked.

"Umm…nothing," the girl answered in a surprisingly husky voice. She painfully sat up and rested her back on the headboard of the bed she was in. No way was she going to have a conversation with Subaku no Gaara while lying on her back.

Gaara remained silent and continued to stare at the girl. She had tanned skin. Almost as brown as his jounin "teacher" Baki, he noted. Long black hair that someone, probably Temari, had pulled into a braid lay over her left shoulder and fell into her lap. Her eyes, when the girl had summoned enough courage to actually _look_ at him, were a surprisingly dark purple. _Like the desert sky at dusk in August,_ he thought to himself. (4) Gaara shook his head, unused to such thoughts in his head. The anger he felt at such a lapse filtered into his next question.

"Who are you?"

Her hand automatically went to the hollow of her throat—between her collarbones—to her amulet for courage. Only to find it missing. "Where is it?" she suddenly demanded, glaring at Gaara.

Idly, he noticed her black polished nails. "What? Do you mean this?" he held up a jade green pendant with _alibata _writing on it. (5)

The girl hissed in a way that reminded Gaara of a certain blonde ninja and made a grab for the amulet. "Give it back!"

Gaara easily brought it out of reach. "Give me your name and I'll give it back."

She blinked and stared at the redhead. Gaara was being uncharacteristically reasonable. She instantly didn't trust it.

"You only want my name?"

"For now."

"And you'll give me back my amulet?"

"Yes."

"Fine. It's—" _Shit! I can't give him my real name! I don't even know if my name even _exists_ here!_ The girl panicked and looked at the amulet again. "Kinabuhi," she answered. "My name is Kinabuhi, but you can call me Kina."

Gaara noticed the slight hesitation and immediately knew she lied. Although he didn't know why, he decided to let her keep her identity secret. She had gone through enough in the trader's tent and she would tell him her real name—eventually. "Interesting name," he muttered. "And what kind of parents name their daughter _blood_?" (6)

"Warriors do," Kinabuhi shot back. "Now give me back my amulet."

"Fine," he said, holding out the amulet. "Take it."

Reaching out her hand, Kina made to grab the green stone, only to have Gaara pull it back a bit. She felt her anger get the better of her as she brought her other hand forward and grabbed the boy's elbow with her _Ipit Kamay,_ which immediately locked the joint. (7) Once the arm was immobilized, she slid her free hand to the amulet and took it from Gaara's unresisting fingers.

Gaara stared at her as she calmly placed the necklace around her throat and absently rubbed his elbow. _How did she manage to do that without my sand protecting me?_ he wondered. _She definitely has some talents. I think I'll keep her._ (8)

"You will remain here until Temari deems you fit for work," he said as he stood up. "Once you are, you will remove yourself from her household and be placed in my own. There you will work as a housekeeper until Kankuro has the time to test you on your skills. Don't try to leave Suna or disobey any of my orders. I'll know if you do and do not think I will always be so reasonable." (9)

Kina waited until he walked out of the room and shut the door before she started banging her hand against her forehead. _What the hell was I thinking?_ she yelled at herself. _That was _Gaara_! How could I use that move against him?_

"Wait a minute," she gasped. "Test? Reasonable? _Housekeeper? _What the hell! If he thinks I'm going to clean his messes for him, he has another thing coming. I don't even clean up _my_ messes!"

Her rant was interrupted by quiet laughter from the doorway. Kina slowly turned her head and saw two more familiar faces. Temari and Kankuro stood there staring at her with laughter in their eyes. _They are definitely better looking in person,_ Kina decided.

"So you don't clean up messes, huh?" Kankuro said. "That's too bad, cause my little brother is in dire need of a housekeeper to make sure he keeps things neat. Now that he's Kazekage, he can't be caught living in a place that has piles of sand mixed in with piles of laundry!"

_Kazekage, huh?_ she thought. _At least now I have an idea of _when_ I am._

"Stop teasing her Kankuro," Temari said, hitting her brother with a small fan. "She still needs to bring up her strength before I can send her to our brother's house. Dinner will be up shortly along with some pain medication. I suggest you take it." A frown marred the beautiful kunoichi's features. "You don't have to tell us everything, but how did you get caught up with that bastard anyway?"

Kina gestured for the two to sit down and sighed. _I can't tell them what _really_ happened,_ she thought. "I don't really know," she half-lied. "One moment I was in my own bed in my father's house and the next I was tied up and given to that trader by another man."

"You were _given_ away?" Kankuro asked, shocked.

She nodded. "And before you ask: no, I didn't recognize the man who gave me away. I just want to go home." Kina felt tears burn her eyes, but refused to let them fall.

"You can't. Unfortunately, Kazekage-sama has claimed you," Temari said softly.

"Claimed me?"

"As a ward," Kankuro hastily corrected. "You are now a daughter of Suna and as such, you cannot leave without the Kazekage's permission."

"Oh," Kina felt her stomach sink at this news. _Great, not only am I supposed to clean up after him; he's now my "adopted" father._

"I'm Temari, by the way," the blonde Sand nin said. "This is my brother Kankuro and the Rude One who just left is our other brother, Gaara, the Kazekage."

She laughed humorlessly and gave a half smile. "I figured as much," she replied. "I'm Kinabuhi. Kina for short."

"Well, Kina," Temari said, plumping up the pillows behind her as Kankuro placed the dinner tray that had just arrived on her lap. "Eat up and don't forget the medicine! I'll check on you tomorrow." With that the two left her alone again.

Kina ravenously ate the food given to her after sniffing each piece—checking for drugs, of course. It was surprisingly good for her first taste of Suna cuisine. Deciding that they wouldn't hurt her—for now—she took the pain medication and lay down on her side. Before she fell into a deep slumber she couldn't help but think one thing.

Kina didn't know how and she didn't know why, but her younger cousin's belief that all TV shows were really alternate realities suddenly didn't seem so stupid anymore.

**

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A/N: Yes! This is one of those "normal _Naruto_ watching fans gets sucked into the world of _Naruto_" fanfictions! Hahahahahahahahahaha!**Yes! This is one of those "normal watching fans gets sucked into the world of " fanfictions! Hahahahahahahahahaha! 

Things will really start rolling now.

**(1) **_Yawa_ is Cebuano for "demon"

**(2) **Yes, Kankuro is a little OC right now. But let's pretend he's Suna's version of Shizune, okay? Besides, when the three Sand nin leave Konoha after helping Shikamaru at the Academy, he said something about judging the "talents of the next generation of Leaf nin" so I figured he'd say something like that to Gaara.

**(3)** Gaara _is _yummy, isn't he?

**(4) **If you haven't seen the desert sky at dusk head for your nearest desert! It's absolutely beautiful!

**(5) **_Alibata_ is the Filipino version of katakana…alas, the practice has been lost thanks to centuries of Spanish, English, and American rule.

**(6) **_Kinabuhi_ is Cebuano for "life" but it can also be substituted to mean "blood" so obviously, Gaara only knows this translation.

**(7) **Literally meaning, "hand pinch," _Ipit Kamay_ is one of the hand positions used in _Escrima_ fighting. (Filipino martial arts)

**(8) **Gaara's so wonderfully arrogant isn't he?

**(9) **Since Gaara is the Kazekage he lives in the Kazekage's residence and not with his siblings.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine…deal, I do…and Mortal Kombat…totally not mine.

**A/N:** I'm not particularly good at action scenes…please bear with me and tell me where and how I can improve them. :)

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**Chapter 3: Shopping and Test 1 **

"She's been out of bed for a week, Kazekage-sama," Temari said. "If you're going to test her, it has to be soon. The suspense is starting to get to her."

Gaara sat behind the Kazekage's—_his_—desk. The blue and white robes draped over his 13 year old frame loosely and provided a nice contrast to his dark red hair. "Fine," he said quietly. "Tomorrow, Baki will test her taijutsu skills, you will test her ninjutsu, and Kankuro will test her genjutsu."

"What will you be doing?" she asked.

"I will be stuck in Council meetings all day. You three will report to me and then I will decide what rank she will be given," Gaara paused and looked out the window. "I also want her to be packed and moved into the Kazekage Mansion by 5 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Buy her some clothes and other necessary things. She can pick whichever room she wants as long as it's at least three rooms from mine."

"Hai," Temari answered. "If that's all, Kazekage-sama?"

"No, that's not." Gaara turned towards his sister again. "How many times has she tried to leave Suna?"

Temari looked at the floor and answered, "3, Kazekage-sama."

A cold smile graced Gaara's features. "Then you will buy her three versions of this uniform," he gave Temari a card with the relevant information on it. Ignoring her wide eyes, he continued. "You will also tell her that she has to wear the uniform while working in my household."

"Gaara, you can't be serious!" she cried, forgetting her brother's new title in her shock.

"I'm very serious, Temari," he answered. "Suna is her home now, whether she acknowledges it or not. The sooner she accepts it the better." (1)

0000000000000000

"We're what?" Kinabuhi gasped.

"Going shopping," Temari answered. "You don't want to live in my old clothes now do you?"

Kina looked down at her baggy off-white dress. On Temari it reached her upper thighs. On the 13 year old Kina, it reached to just below her knees. _Damn, I'm short,_ she groused.

"Let's go."

The girls went to shop after shop, buying kimonos as well as jeans, pants, shorts, T-shirts, mesh shirts, mesh armbands, mesh leggings, mesh shorts, mesh tube tops, (_lots_ of mesh…apparently, Temari bought the fabric in bulk and had different articles of clothing made by hand), and shoes. Kina blushed when she realized that bras didn't exist in this reality and learned how to use the chest bindings that Temari used. The other girl was shocked that Kina didn't know how to do it, but believed Kina's story about growing up with her widowed father who didn't like to talk about 'girly' things.

"Isn't that just like a man," Temari had snorted.

Along with the clothes, Temari took Kina to a weapons shop and told her to pick a few weapons she wanted to have and use. Temari noticed her slight reluctance and immediately ordered 3 sets of kunais, 4 sets of shurikens, and a katana for the girl. Kina immediately objected about the cost of the items.

"You didn't complain when we were buying you clothes," Temari noted.

"But that's clothes," Kina whispered. "Even though Kazekage-sama is paying for them, I need to have something to wear."

"Well, you're going to need weapons, too," Temari said. "Shinobi don't go anywhere without _some_ form of weapon."

"Am I to be a shinobi?"

"Gaara thinks you have the potential," Temari said, admiring a silver metal fan. She picked it up and placed it in the girl's hand. "Here."

Kina opened the 12-inch long fan with a practiced flick that had Temari raising her eyebrows. "This is very pretty," she said, admiring the black silk cloth with silver herons flying as the pattern. "But why is it in a weapons shop?"

Chuckling, Temari took the fan from her. Closing it again, she pushed the joint holding the fan together away from her. Long, sharp blades emerged from each of the spokes of the fan. Flicking it open again, Temari showed Kina the bladed fan. (2)

_Holy shit, it's just like 'Mortal Kombat,'_ Kina thought.

"You'll learn that as a kunoichi—that is, a female ninja—you have to be cunning and devious in both your manner and your choice of weapons," Temari explained, closing the fan and retracting the blades. "Do you want it?"

"Yes…" Kina sighed.

"There's a twin to that one, Temari-sama, Kinabuhi-sama," the shopkeeper said. He picked up a gold metal fan and flicked it open. Instead of black silk, the fan was red satin and the pattern on it was made of gold threads swirling together to mimic a sandstorm.

"I'll take them both," Kina decided. "As well as the pair of _chobos_ behind you and the _bolo_ over there." (3)

Temari was impressed. Not only had Kina chosen well made weapons, but weapons that were primarily used for self defense. Her sensei, Baki, had once said that you could tell a lot about a fighter just from their choice of weapon. Temari had come to realize that it was not always the case, but if Kina's choice of weapons were geared toward self-defense, then she doubted that the girl would be able to rank any higher than genin.

"We still have one more store to go to, Kina," Temari said. "We should get home so that you can get a good night's rest. Your test is tomorrow."

"Alright, Temari-san." Kina smiled and followed her to another store.

Ten minutes later, she wasn't smiling anymore.

"I…AM…GOING…TO…KILL…HIM!"

0000000000000000

Kina woke up quickly the next morning and put on a pair of short black shorts. After finding a mesh tank top, she placed the black chest binding around herself. She put on one of her new tops, this one was a green Chinese style top, and tucked her amulet underneath it. She grabbed her new sandals and her weapons bag and headed to the kitchen.

Seeing no one there, Kina decided to make her own breakfast for once. She looked in the refrigerator and found a loaf of bread, eggs, milk, lettuce, and string cheese. Lots and lots of string cheese.

_Huh,_ she thought. _I never figured Temari or Kankuro as string cheese fanatics._

Taking out the bread, milk, and eggs, she turned to the cupboards and started to make herself some French toast. Temari came into the room after she had made her fifth slice.

"What's that smell?" she asked. "Smells good. I've never seen bread prepared like that before."

Kina turned and smiled at her hostess. "It's something from my homeland," she said. _Sort of, more like home _time she thought. She made four more pieces before she turned off the stove and sat down at the table. "Eat up!"

Kankuro came as Temari reached for the last piece of French toast. Being male and seeing the last piece of food on the table, he immediately grabbed it and gobbled it in one bite.

"Kankuro," Temari growled. "That was the last piece."

Kankuro rubbed his stomach and opened one of his eyes. "Was it?" he asked. "It was damned good. What was it?"

"It was food that Kina-chan made for us. 'Us' being me and her!"

"Well, Kina can always make more," he said. "After all, I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Then you should wake up earlier, _baka_!" Temari yelled, glomping her brother on the head.

Throughout this exchange, Kina just looked back and forth between the siblings like she was watching a game of pong. (4)

"I can make more," she offered. "It's no problem, Temari-san, Kankuro-san."

"Yes it is a problem," Temari said, holding her brother in a headlock despite the fact that he was taller by at least five centimeters. "We have to warm up before your test and you can't waste the time to cook this moron breakfast. Didn't I give you permission to call me 'neechan'?"

"Hai, Temari-neechan," she corrected. "But if Kankuro-san is going to test me also, shouldn't he have a good breakfast as well?"

Temari snorted and let her brother go. "If he wants to have a good breakfast, he'll have to get one without your help. You _really_ need to warm up since you're going up against me, Kankuro, _and_ Baki-sensei."

"All three of you?" Kina gasped. "I thought it would only be you and Kankuro-san…"

"Nope! C'mon," the older girl grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Let's get going."

Kankuro's pitiful cry followed them out the door. "But what about my breakfast?"

0000000000000000

Kina stood in a large dojo in the Kazekage's Mansion across from Baki, Temari, and Kankuro. Her legs wanted to shake so badly, but she refused to let the tremors through. For now, these three were her opponents and she couldn't let any bit of fear show on her face or allow any weakness to show through her body language. So instead of shaking, she stood in her normal _Escrima_ stance. (5) Her feet were planted firmly on the ground and she loosely clasped her right forearm with her left hand. Her bag of weapons lay on the ground by her feet.

"Alright," Temari started. She had been appointed the examiner for Kina's first test. "The first part of your test will be on taijutsu. That means hand-to-hand combat—no weapons until I say so. Kinabuhi, your opponent will be Baki-sensei while I will be the examiner. Kankuro will be taking notes in the meantime."

"You will have 5 matches. However many you win does not matter. Your goal is to knock the other to the ground for ten seconds or get them to admit defeat. You will be allowed one weapon for the third match, two for the fourth, and as many as you need for the fifth," Temari explained.

Baki stepped forward to the middle of the mat covered room and waited for Kina to join him. Once she was five feet away from him, he bowed to her and went into a battle stance. Kina automatically stepped back with her right foot and touched her forehead with the first two fingers of her right hand while at the same time touched the first two fingers of her left hand to her bellybutton, keeping her thumbs extended the entire time. (6)

Baki looked almost confused at her odd stance before she stepped forward and brought her right hand down from her forehead and assumed a battle stance. Her right foot moved forward again and she brought her right arm up to protect her chest with her right hand lightly covering her heart. Her left hand stayed by her bellybutton. (7)

_This one has been trained before,_ Baki noted. _I don't recognize the stance, but it's definitely one for fighting._

"Start!" Temari yelled.

Baki leaped into action. He ran directly for the startled girl. Kina felt the familiar sensation of battle tunnel vision start to take over and relaxed the muscles around her eyes. Time seemed to slow down as she moved her left shoulder back and to the right as she dodged Baki's left fist and arm. Her right hand grabbed at his wrist as it flew past. She stepped back with her left foot as her left hand shot out and grabbed his elbow in the same joint lock move she used on Gaara the week before.

Before Baki could react, she twisted his arm behind him and kicked him fast and low behind his knees. This brought the jounin to his knees. Kina let go of his wrist and pinched his right shoulder to immobilize the joint. Her right knee came up and pressed against his back, pulling his shoulders painfully.

"I yield," the Sand nin said.

"First match, Kina," Temari said.

Baki stood when she let him go and quickly reassessed the girl. _She's fast and strong for her size,_ he thought, rotating his right shoulder. _She obviously knows the human body and it's weak points._ Walking back to the center of the mat, the two faced off once more.

"She's fast," Kankuro noted as she dodged Baki's first punch and blocked his knee from hitting her hip with her own. "She knows how to use her knees, too."

"Yes," Temari answered. Kina was on the defensive again as Baki let loose with a barrage of fast punches. Kina did her best to block each one, but a few got through and she fell onto her knees before the jounin.

"Do you yie—" Baki was cut short with a squawk as Kina struck the inside of his knee with her forearm. He overbalanced and fell onto the ground as Kina jumped up and stood in her battle stance again.

"Like hell I do," she whispered as she waited for Baki to get up and attack her again.

"She got Baki-sensei to squawk," Kankuro laughed.

"Yeah, she did. But did you notice how she never attacks?" Temari asked. The two fighters kept trading punches and blows. Baki was always the attacker, while Kina simply blocked and looked for an opening. "She turns the tables on his attacks but never goes on the offensive herself."

"Now that you mention it, Kina _is_ more of a defensive fighter," Kankuro agreed.

Baki came close to Kina's right shoulder and faked a back-handed punch to her head. As her right hand came up to defend her face, he changed direction and sent and underhand punch to her gut. His hit connected, but wasn't as strong as it should have been because Kina's left hand—which never really left its position near her bellybutton for long—grabbed his wrist and checked the blow. But the force was enough to cause Kina to double over and fall onto her side, coughing.

"Second match, Baki-sensei," Temari called out.

Kina sat on her heels and took a deep breath. Baki noticed her lips moving, as if muttering a jutsu, but noticed no chakra gathering around the girl. When she was done, she opened her eyes and a new light was in them. She quickly stood and walked over to her weapons bag. It was the third match and they could finally use a weapon.

Kina refused to show the pain she was feeling as she bent down to grab the silver metal fan she and Temari had bought the other day. After she recited the _oracion_, she had pushed the pain she felt into a corner of her mind. (8) She looked at the seemingly fragile fan in her hand. It was heavier than a normal fan, but since the spokes were made of metal, that was to be expected. Even without extending the blades within the 12-inch fan, it could be used as a weapon.

They met in the center again and Baki bowed while Kina executed her strange salute once more. Only this time, she touched the tip of the fan to her forehead instead of her fingers. Once she settled into her battle stance she snapped open the fan and smiled at Baki.

"Bring it," she whispered.

The older man smirked and raised his kunai to his chest. He had noticed Kina's lack of offensive moves as well and cautiously began to circle her. She followed him with her eyes and turned her head to keep him in her sights. When he got behind her, she refused to move her feet to follow him. He finally came up on her right side, when she flipped the fan in her right hand and stepped to face him, all the while twirling the fan until it seamlessly rested in her left.

Baki watched the movements of the fan and failed to notice the exchange of hands and so he was unprepared for her to lunge forward and knock away his kunai with her right hand. He hadn't expected her to attack after being on the defensive for the first two matches. Baki lunged after his weapon only to have his hand slapped by the now closed fan.

He brought his hand back to his side, surprised to see a bright red mark on his tanned skin. _That's no ordinary fan,_ he thought. Kina noticed his hesitation and took the opportunity to attack again. Using quick movements and using the _witik_ form of attacking, she hit a few pressure points on both of Baki's arms. (9)

Kina came up in front of him and winked before she tapped his shoulder with the fan and followed through with a straight jab to his stomach with her left fist. He doubled over and immediately met Kina's upraised knee. The jarring to his sternum knocked the breath out of him and he fell on his face in the middle of the dojo.

"Third match, Kina," Temari said, impressed by Kina's use of the fan. Obviously, the girl had taken her words yesterday to heart. _"You'll learn that as a kunoichi…you have to be cunning and devious in both your manner and your choice of weapons."_

She waited a few minutes for Baki to sit up as she quickly wrote down her thoughts on the match for Gaara to read later. When she looked up, her sensei was still face down on the floor and Kina was kneeling next to him, shaking his shoulder.

"Baki-sensei!" the girl called. "This isn't funny. I didn't hit you that hard! Baki-sensei!"

Kankuro and Temari ran to where their ex-sensei lay. Kankuro turned the man over and Temari opened his vest. Kina sat and watched as the two siblings took his vital signs and watched his breathing. She was surprised when Temari frowned and hit Baki upside the head.

"_Baki-baka!_" the blonde kunoichi yelled. "Don't make us call the medic nins, you faker! Just because you were beaten by a little girl with a fan is no excuse to use _Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu _and worry Kina-chan!"

"_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu…"_ Kina repeated. She suddenly understood and hit Baki on the shoulder as well. "That's not very nice, Baki-sensei, putting yourself to sleep like that! I was really worried!"

Baki smiled sheepishly and rubbed the side of his head. Kina never thought that the man who had led the Sand nin against Konoha would ever look like a reprimanded child. "Gomen," he said as he sat up. "It's just that I didn't expect you to be so proficient. What kind of taijutsu were you using anyway, Kina-sama?"

Kina blushed and looked down. "Um…it's called _Escrima_," she explained. "It's from my father's homeland. He taught it to me ever since I was little. But I use it wrong."

Kankuro shook his head. "From where I was sitting it looked like you were using it right."

It was Kina's turn to shake her head. "No, no, no. Escrima is supposed to be for self-defense only," she twisted her hands around the fan in her lap. "I was the first one to attack in that last fight."

"It's okay, Kina-chan," Temari said. "Everyone adapts certain taijutsus to fit their personalities or the situation. It's the nature of combat."

Baki stood up and smiled down at the girl again. "Speaking of combat," he drawled. "We have two more matches to fight."

Kina sighed and spoke without thinking, "Let's not and say we did." (10)

The other three shinobi were silent for a second and then burst out laughing. Kankuro laughed harder when he noticed how red Kina was turning.

"That's a unique way of putting it," Temari said. "Since we still have two more parts of the test to give you, Kina-chan, this once we will forget the last two matches. Why don't you rest for a bit and then we'll start the next part, okay?"

Kina smiled at Temari and promptly fell onto her back. "Thank you, Temari-neechan!"

* * *

**A/N: **Well, how'd I do? Be honest! But not brutal…--;

Next Chapter: Temari finds something out and Kankuro is a flamingo? What?

**(1)** Kina is now a Daughter of Suna because Gaara "claimed" her as his "ward."

**(2)** I don't know if a weapon like this actually exists…I made it up for the story…it would be cool if something like this did exist though.

**(3) **_Chobos_ are fighting sticks…think police batons. And a _bolo_ is a short 14-20 inch sword that is most often used in rice farming.

**(4)** The whole "tennis match" thing is so overused…but since pong is just a video game version of it, I guess I'm just as bad. --;

**(5) **_Escrima _is one of the martial arts of the Philippines…if you haven't been paying attention to the first two chapters.

**(6) **This is called _Bigay Galang_, which is the courtesy salutation Escrima fighters perform before sparring. It's equivalent to bowing to an opponent. The hand position is like the 'L' sign for loser; only the middle finger is up against the first finger.

**(7) **This stance is called _Tindig Serrada_, which is the 'Ready Position.'

**(8)** An _oracion_ is a prayer, usually in Latin, that when chanted, sung, or mentally recited, serve to protect or strengthen a person. Kina uses it to focus along with her amulet.

**(9)** A _witik_ attack is a straight strike against an opponent, but at the point of impact, the user flicks the wrist back very quickly, causing a slight "recoil" effect to take place. The hit is usually very stinging and painful for a while.

**(10) **This is something me and my friends always say to our professors when they tell us that we "just need to do _x number_ more problems or whatever and then we can go home."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Naruto…not mine

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4: Tests and A Deal

Temai, Kankuro, and Baki sat along the wall of the dojo with their jaws hanging open in shock.

"You don't know _any_?" Temari asked the girl in front of them.

Kina laughed nervously and fiddled with the silver and black fan in her hands. "Nope," she admitted. "I mean, I've heard and seen shinobi perform them." _...on the TV screen…_ "But I don't know how to mold chakra or perform any jutsus." The three remained silent. Kina couldn't handle their stares any longer so she did what she always did when people stared at her.

Ever since she was little, she had problems keeping her hands still when she was nervous. It had gotten better with time and training, but after that intense match, the old habit returned. She pulled out the second fan, the gold and red one, and snapped them both open. Kina refused to meet their eyes as she expertly twirled and flipped the fans in front of her.

"How could you learn so much taijutsu and not learn any ninjutsu?" Baki demanded.

"I dunno," she answered. "It just turned out that way." _No way am I telling them that molding chakra and performing the "impossible" is just make-believe where I'm from._ Instead, she focused on the black and red patterns of the fans she kept spinning.

"Kankuro, do you see that?" Baki whispered to his ex-student.

"Hai," the purple face paint wearing teen said. "She says that she doesn't know how to mold chakra. But I can trace some gathering near her eyes as she's spins the fans."

They watched as Kina kept spinning and twirling the fans faster and faster. Eventually, she added arm movements that moved the fans even faster. The movements were so fast; it looked as if she were holding a red and black flag in front of her.

"Either she's lying or she doesn't realized it. Either way," Temari added. "Kina-chan has some kind of chakra. It just isn't refined."

Kina had mixed feelings about the fact that her three "examiners" were now talking amongst themselves. On the one hand—she threw the red fan into the air while spinning the black one, spun around twice, and caught it—it was good because they weren't staring at her anymore, well not so intently anyway. On the other—Kina fluidly fell onto her knees (the fans still spinning) and slid onto her back—it was bad because they were obviously talking about her. She shook her head and steadily began to rise to her knees and then to her toes and finally stood straight up again, the fans never stopping or slowing down in their movements.

_Yes! I finally did the "Resurrection" without falling on my butt!_ (1) Kina didn't notice the other's staring at her again. She was just happy that she could finally perform the move her cousin had tried to teach her.

Baki gaped. He had never seen anyone move like that without using a large amount of chakra. It was so fluid and steady at the same time. As far as he could tell, the only sign of chakra was near her eyes. The girl had amazing muscle control. He looked her over again to see if he could find any other traces of chakra.

"Look there, you two," he pointed to Kina's left shoulder—which was visible from where they were sitting. "A fair amount of chakra is gathering at her tattoo."

"It's strange. Her chakra is light purple."

The two men turned to Temari and then to the girl. "You're right, it is."

"I wonder…" Kankuro muttered as he stood up.

Kina was in the zone. She forgot who sat in front of her and where she was. Right now, her world consisted of the red and black fans and how fast and how complicated she could make them "dance." It was only her strict training that alerted her to a presence on her right. Quickly, too quickly for most people to see, she snapped the fans closed, pushed the buttons that released their blades and stepped toward the presence.

Kankuro was about to pat Kina on the shoulder when he felt a sharp blade against his throat and another on his stomach. _Damn, I knew they weren't normal fans,_ he thought. _Not if Temari gave them to her._

"Relax, Kina," he said soothingly, backing away from the blades. "We just decided to skip the ninjutsu part of the exam and go straight to the genjutsu."

She lowered her arms and looked confused. "But if I can't do ninjutsus, how can you expect me to do _genjutsus_?" she asked.

He smirked and folded his hands over his chest. "I'm not expecting you to do them. I'm expecting you to _see through_ them."

_Good one, Kankuro,_ Temari thought. Since the only chakra they could see accumulated in her eyes, it was a good bet that she could unconsciously use that to see through illusion techniques.

"Put those fans down and take this." Kina followed Kankuro's directions and took the bag of small water balloons from him. "I'm going to do a few genjutsus and I want you to throw the water balloon at where you think the real me is. Some of them will be binding genjutsus, so all you have to do is break through them to be able to move your arms. Baki-sensei will check the amount of time you stay in each genjutsu and Temari will be taking notes." He waited for the girl to nod her head before he yelled out, _"Bushin no jutsu!"_

Kina was immediately surrounded by seven Kankuros. She looked around her, but they all looked the same. She grabbed a water balloon and blinked. A white light flashed behind her eyelids and when she opened them again, only one Kankuro remained. When she threw the water balloon, bright pink paint splattered onto the Sand nin's black clad shoulder.

Kankuro looked down at his pink stained clothes. _Ah, well. That's why I wore old clothes today._ "Let's see if you can see this. _Meimei no Kaze!_" (2)

Kina stared in surprise as Kankuro disappeared. As if a giant eraser just, well, _erased_ him. She felt a breeze brush her hair and blinked. _Flash!_ She barely saw the kunai in his hand before she dropped and rolled. Before she got to her knees, the pink stain on his clothes was joined by a neon green one.

_Ugh, who chose those colors?_ Kina thought.

"Good!" he called out. _That was fast. _"Next one. _Kamaitachi no Jutsu!_"

Temari looked up from her notes. _That's an ANBU jutsu! When did Kankuro learn that?_ she thought jealously.

Kina tried to get another water/paint balloon, but found that she couldn't move. She blinked again and again, the white flash appeared behind her eyelids. Once she could move her arms she grabbed a balloon and threw it at Kankuro.

_Hmph…not many people can escape an ANBU level body freezing technique, _Baki thought, writing down the time it took for her to release the jutsu. _And she does it without hurting herself._

This went on for at least twenty minutes. Kankuro would perform a genjutsu on Kina. Kina would blink. Kankuro would be covered in yet another eye wateringly bright color of paint.

"Okay!" Temari called out. "That's enough for today. Kina, one of the servants will take you back to my house. You need to pack your stuff."

"Why?"

"You start work here at the mansion tonight," was the answer. "So you have to move in."

"Can't you help me?"

Kankuro and Baki were surprised when Temari flushed and started herding the men out of the dojo. "No, we have to write up our reports on your test and give them to Kazekage-sama along with our verbal accounts," she said hurriedly. "And you need to be settled in by 5 this afternoon."

"That's in three hours! And what do you mean _work_?"

Temari paused just outside the dojo doors. She fisted her hands in Baki's and Kankuro's collars and whispered, "Run."

They didn't understand what she meant until she told Kina one last thing.

"Oh…and Kina-chan…Kazekage-sama commands you to wear your uniform while you perform your cleaning duties tonight."

Later—much, much, _much_ later, both Baki and Kankuro swore themselves blind that this was true—the men would mention how a bright light flashed inside the dojo and all three claimed they saw a black mushroom shaped cloud appear over Kina's head.

Kina, of course, denied any such thing ever happened.

But no one ever really believed her.

0000000000000000

Gaara sat behind his desk and stared at three of the most tolerable people he knew. His blue and white Kazekage hat lay on the desk before him and his elbows stayed on the armrests of his chair. "Well?" he asked, folding his fingers under his jaw.

Baki stepped forward and placed a thick dark green folder on the desk. "Our written reports on Kinabuhi-san's taijutsu are in here."

Gaara barely looked at the folder. "Tell me what you think, Baki."

"Kinabuhi-san's taijutsu skills are extremely well honed. She won two of the three matches we fought today. Although she is small, she's strong and her sense of balance is almost perfect."

Gaara looked at his siblings and waited.

"She's mostly a defensive fighter, Kazekage-sama," Kankuro added. "From what she told us about her training, her father's people focused on self-defense rather than attack."

"As most true taijutsus are of the same vein, I don't find that surprising," he stated calmly. His eyes turned toward his sister.

"She has the cunning and the grace to be a great kunoichi," she informed. "Her choice of weapon for the third match showed as much. She did defeat Baki-sensei with a fan."

Gaara looked at his ex-sensei and let a small smirk form on his face. "Really? That's interesting. What about her ninjutsu?"

Temari stepped forward and placed an extremely thin blue folder next to the green one. "Nonexistent," she said.

"Explain."

"She doesn't know hand seals or any sort of basic ninjutsu," Temari answered. "She can't control chakra and she doesn't even know the theories of _how_ to mold chakra."

"So she has no chakra?" Gaara asked, reminded of a certain fuzzy eye-browed shinobi.

"That's not what we're saying, Kazekage-sama," Baki said. "She can't _consciously_ mold chakra. But she does contain some." Before Gaara could demand more explanation, he continued. "While we were talking among ourselves, Kinabuhi-san began a complicated maneuver using two fans. It came to our notice that as the maneuvers became more complicated, chakra started to gather near her eyes and around the tattoo on her left bicep."

"What does that tattoo mean, Kazekage-sama?" Kankuro asked. He knew that their father had pushed Gaara to learn more, _know_ more, than his older siblings and that he might be able to read the strange characters on Kina's arm.

"Blood," Gaara answered easily. (3)

"And the other?"

"None of your concern. Now move on with your report."

Kankuro cleared his throat at this and stepped forward to place a dark red folder on the desk beside the other two. "Where Kina's ninjutsu abilities are nonexistent, her genjutsu abilities are jounin level," he said.

"How can she perform genjutsu when she can't perform ninjutsu?"

"It's not that she can _perform_ genjutsu," Kankuro corrected himself. "She can dispel genjutsu faster than anyone ever recorded."

"It's her eyes," Temari said. "The chakra accumulation in her eyes allows her to see through genjutsu in seconds."

"I believe that she may possess a _kekkei genkai,_" Baki stated.

"A bloodline limit?" Gaara asked.

"Yes. Similar to that of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, since her power lies in her eyes as well as the fact that she is able to see through genjutsu so easily."

Gaara thought of the tattoo on her right bicep. _Demon._ "That may or may not be. How fast can she dispel genjutsu?"

"No longer than it takes for her to blink once," Temari said. "Baki-sensei timed it while I watched her."

"And how complex a genjutsu can she dispel?"

Kankuro answered this one. "She saw through _Subaku no Yawatashirazu_ easily, Kazekage-sama."

_Kinabuhi, you saw through the 'Desert Maze'? I am definitely going to keep you,_ Gaara silently laughed.

"That is all," he dismissed the three shinobi with a wave of his hand and stood up. "I feel the need to see how my new housekeeper is doing."

"Why don't I go with you?" Kankuro asked, ignoring Temari's frantically shaking head. "I'm dying to see the uniform you got her to wear."

"You haven't seen it?"

"No, but from the way Kina reacted when Temari told her she _had_ to wear it, it's gotta be something good," the puppet master replied.

"Alright," Gaara said. "But just remember that you don't have my sand shield to block you."

"Why would I need a shield?"

"You'll see…"

00000000000000000

_Gonna kill him,_ Kina thought to herself as she swept the sand from behind a large potted plant. _Gonna rip out his intestines and turn him into a yo-yo. Gonna scalp him and turn the pelt into a purse. _She felt a breeze slide under her short skirt before she tugged it down so that it at least _tried_ to cover her ass.

When she had finally settled into the room she had chosen, one of the shinobi who helped her move informed her that her first duty was to sweep the sand from the Kazekage's suite of rooms. Kina didn't think it would be that bad. After all, Gaara used sand as a weapon, so therefore, he would logically bring it all with him in his gourd.

But no…he didn't.

The small-ish pile that she had started after a full sweep of the floor was starting to look like a dune from a child's sandbox. For the most part the suite of rooms was clean, but after a quick look, Kina discovered that sand had piled up in the strangest of places. Behind tables, under benches, between the books on the bookshelf—she couldn't even begin to guess why there was sand there.

So here she was…on her knees with a tiny brush/broom in her hand, trying to get all of the sand wedged between the plant and the wall. She had tried moving the thing, but it was _way_ too heavy for her to lift on her own. She was about to back up when she felt the presence of more than one person behind her.

"Well, I never expected you to be on your knees so soon, Kina," Kankuro laughed.

Kina backed up and sat on her heels. She turned her head and there were two of the people she really didn't want to see. Well, she didn't really want to see anyone right now, but she _really_ didn't want to see these two.

"Shaddup," she snarled. She stood up and the skirt of her uniform decided to move up her thighs. She quickly pushed it back down and scowled at Kankuro and Gaara.

"You're looking well, Kina-san," Gaara said, folding his arms across her chest. Actually, she looked completely foolish. But then again, that was his intention.

Kina pushed back the headband she had been forced to wear and her fingers brushed against the bunny ears glued to it. Whoever gave the "o.k." to create this bunny outfit was going to die a slow painful death…Kina was going to make sure of that.

"Kazekage-sama," she began sweetly. Too sweetly. Both brothers had grown up with Temari after all and knew the sound of a female bent on retribution. "I can't begin to thank you for the chance to live and work with you. But don't you think that this 'uniform' attracts too much attention to me?"

Gaara moved past her and sat down on a couch. "No."

A vein throbbed in her forehead and Kankuro backed up a step. "I'm just gonna go down to the kitchens and get some tea. Gaara?" At the redhead's nod, Kankuro walked to the door. "And you Kina? How about a few carrots? I'm sure that there's some—argh!"

Gaara looked at his brother and sighed. The idiot was now lying on his floor, staining blood on his carpet. A sturdy wooden brush/broom lay next to his head. Using his sand, Gaara grabbed Kina's wrist and dragged her to stand in front of him.

"Now you will have to add cleaning the carpet of blood stains to your list of duties for tonight."

"Like hell I will!" Kina said. _Holy shit! I'm doing it again…I'm angering Gaara!_ But Kina couldn't help herself. She comforted herself by remembering that he was the one who started it by giving her this ridiculous costume. "I do _not_ do housework!"

"You have no choice," the green eyed Kazekage replied. "You're staying here basically for free. You have to do something to earn your upkeep and, unless you have anything else that is of use to me, being my housekeeper is the best I can come up with. So, is there something else you can provide that Suna needs?"

Kina racked her brain. She wasn't really good at anything except _Escrima_ and watching kids. Her face brightened as Iruka's face flashed into her mind. "I'm good with kids and patient when it comes to teaching them!" she said.

Gaara's eyes narrowed and he let go of her wrist. Her admission actually _was_ something of use. Summoning his sand, he retrieved a book from the bookshelf.

_So that's how sand got there,_ Kina realized.

"Suna lost many jounin due to the failed attack on Konoha," Gaara started as he opened the book. He read a few lines and promptly shut it again. "We need as many skilled fighters as the leaf nin do, perhaps more, and no one is truly left to teach our academy students. Baki tells me that your shuriken and kunai skills are exceptional. You also know a taijutsu that is foreign to our lands."

Kina waited as Gaara seemed to think things out. "How do you feel about taking over the taijutsu department of Suna's Ninja Academy?"

"Um…honored," she responded. "But I'm only 13 and I'm not even a ninja. How do you know that they'll accept me?"

Gaara stood and walked over to his unconscious brother. "They will accept you because I will tell them to accept you," was the arrogant reply. He prodded his brother with his toe and woke him up. "Kankuro, tomorrow you will take Kinabuhi to the Suna Academy and introduce her to the teachers as the new taijutsu department head."

Kankuro nodded sleepily and got up. "Okay," he slurred. "Academy, taijutsu, Kinabuhi. Got it."

Gaara then walked over to a cupboard and removed a black piece of cloth with piece of metal on it. He gave the forehead protector to Kina and said, "As for you not being a ninja…you are now a chuunin of the Hidden Village of Sand."

"Chuunin?" she gaped.

"Yes. The only reason why I'm not promoting you to jounin is because you have no ninjutsu skills. I will personally work with you on that every morning between 5 am and 7 am."

"Why so early?" she asked, holding the forehead protector close to her chest.

"It's not like I sleep."

A thought suddenly occurred to Kina. "I don't have to wear those ugly vests, you guys are so proud of, do I?"

Gaara was surprised when a startled sound escaped his mouth. _Was that a laugh?_ he wondered. "No," he answered. "Kunoichis do not have to wear those 'ugly vests' as you call them. As long as whatever weapons you use are readily available along with the required number of kunais and shurikens, and you have your forehead protector on you, it doesn't matter what you wear. You still have to oversee the state of my household, though."

"Okay, I can handle managing that," Kina conceded. "Can I go change now?"

"Yes. But Kinabuhi," he added. "Disobey me again and you will have to wear those 'uniforms' to the Academy."

Kina shivered and smiled at the Kazekage. "Don't worry Kazekage-sama! I'll be on my best behavior from now on!"

_Somehow, I doubt that,_ Gaara thought before he sat down once more.

**

* * *

A/N:**

Done! Ack…I had a little trouble with this chapter, but I got through it. You like? You don't? Please tell me…

**(1)** "Resurrection" is a raver move where you fall slowly onto your back sitting on your heels then get back up into standing position in the space of maybe 40-60 seconds…if you didn't notice, Kina's "spinning" the fans and moving her arms is my version of her doing liquids (another raver move) but instead of glowsticks, she uses fans. It works too, if you practice…a lot.

**(2) **"Meimei" means invisible…"Kaze" means wind…so "Meimei no Kaze" means invisible wind

**(3) **Kina has two tattoos (that they know of). One on each bicep. The tattoos are written in _alibata_, an old alphabet from the Philippines.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Own Naruto? Me? Nah…

**A/N: **I should tell you all right now that I'm not going to follow the timeline from the anime or the manga. Just tellin' ya.

**

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**

Chapter 5: As the Months Pass By (Part 1)

**October 31**

"Kina," Kankuro said, holding a frighteningly large amount of papers and notebooks in his hands. "Do you know where my _baka_ brother is right now?"

Kina stared at the puppet master and frowned. "Kankuro-san, why are you wearing a school uniform? And what happened to your make-up?" The teen looked over at Kina and smiled. _Damn, he looks yummy,_ she thought. _Yummier than usual, actually._ (1)

"It's Halloween, Kina," he replied. "I wear enough make-up the rest of the year, when I dress like this people _really _get freaked!"

"Kinda like Marilyn Manson without make-up," she muttered.

"Who?"

"Oh, nothing. I think Gaara-sama's in his office," she answered. Kankuro moved in the direction of his brother's office and entered. Kina followed, determined not to miss this particular show.

"No."

"Gaara, you _have _to get this paperwork done!" Kankuro pleaded—well, as close to pleading as the older Sand nin would ever get. "It needs to be filed before next week."

Gaara turned cold eyes towards his brother and frowned. "Then you do it."

"I can't. I have plans."

"Then cancel them."

Kankuro gasped. "But it's Halloween! You know how I love Halloween!"

Gaara did know and just two years ago he wouldn't have cared. But now that small seed of conscience that Naruto had planted was rooted in his brain. "Where's Temari?" he asked roughly. "She'll do it."

"She's on a mission," Kankuro said. 

"What idiot gave her a mission when there's so much paperwork to do?" Gaara growled.

"You did, Gaara-sama!" Kina happily answered. Obviously, the girl wanted to see what the inside of a sand coffin looked like.

But to Kankuro's surprise, Gaara just gave a strangled scream and sat down at his desk. "Give me those reports. It's not like I'm going to sleep anyway."

After Kankuro left, Kina stood next to Gaara's desk. Gaara's tattoo twitched for the fifth time before he yelled at her.

"What do you want!"

Kina wasn't scared of the Kazekage—washing a man's underwear and cleaning up after him kind of took the edge off of the whole menacing killer thing. Especially when said underwear had small sand castles on them. (2) Not to mention the fact that she's trained every single morning for the past month with the rat bastard.

"Need any help?"

Gaara blinked up at Kina and remained silent.

"Well, do you?"

Gaara continued to blink.

"Fine! I'll just reorganize your closet then!"

The threat of Kina changing anything in his highly organized closet jarred Gaara out of his stupor. "Can you even read this, Kina?" he asked.

Kina came up to Gaara's shoulder and picked up a report. After a few blinks of her own, the now familiar white flash appeared before her eyes and the previously jumbled patterns of ink made sense to her.

"Sure," she said. "This is a laundry bill for the Squad Captain of ANBU Team 8. Wow, those sand castle boxers sure are popular here."

"Give me that," Gaara said, certain that she lied. But no…there in black and white was a laundry inventory that included: 2 ANBU uniforms, 4 pairs of black socks, and 8 pairs of sand castle boxer shorts. "Huh," he murmured. "And the saleslady said that mine were the last pair."

Kina stifled a laugh as she sat down and started to separate the huge pile into smaller ones. "Okay, this one is for mission reports, this one is for bills, this one is 'and junk', and this one is for mission requests," she said, pointing to the small piles.

"What does 'and junk' mean?" Gaara asked, raising his eyebrow. At least that's what Kina thought he did, since his 'love' tattoo scrunched up a bit. (3)

Kina waved her hand. "Y'know, the useless stuff that all directors of paperwork like to create. Memos, reprimands, forms in triplicate, and junk. They had a lot of that when I helped my dad out at the hospital back—"

…_back home._

Kina quickly looked down at the papers she was shuffling and Gaara coughed into his hand. _So her dad worked at a hospital and she helped out,_ he thought. _Interesting._

"Here," he said, handing her a red stamp with the Kazekage insignia and a huge ledger book. (4) He then pointed to the pile bills. "All you have to do is stamp that in the 'Signature' box and write down the amount in the ledger. If anything looks off—the type of bill or amount or whatever—ask me. Okay?"

Kina nodded and took the stamp. "Okay."

They worked in companionable silence for the rest of the night.

00000000000000000

**November 14**

It was late, probably around 2 in the morning, when Kina heard the noise. Carefully, putting on a soft lavender kimono, she grabbed her kunai and headed towards the stairs. There it was again. The soft sound was similar to that of a crying kitten scratching at a door. Keeping her guard up and sticking to the shadows, she headed downstairs. There at the bottom of the stairs was Gaara. Kina gasped as she realized that Gaara was injured.

"Gaara," she cried, forgetting to add '-sama' to the name for once. She raced down the stairs and knelt by his side. "Gaara-kun, are you alright?"

"Bastard Sound nins surprised me," Gaara gasped. "They used explosive seals…_Suna no Tate_ couldn't keep up."

Kina couldn't help but let a whimper escape. If they had managed to evade Gaara's sand shield, then the explosives must have been either large in number or extremely strong. Knowing how strong Gaara himself was, it was probably both. "Gaara-kun, we have to get you to a hospital," she said.

"No," he said, grabbing her hand. "I just need to rest. Shukaku will heal me in a few hours. (5) Just get me upstairs."

Kina tried to get him upstairs, but he was too heavy. _The gourd!_ she thought. She untied the gourd from Gaara's shaking body and tried to balance his weight on her hip. "My room's closer than yours, Gaara-kun," she whispered. "I don't think I can take you any farther than that."

"Hn."

It took almost twenty minutes for the girl to half-carry, half-drag, the semi-conscious boy to her room. Collapsing onto her bed, Kina rolled Gaara onto his back and gently took off his sandals. "Just rest," she said, examining his wounds.

"I won't go to sleep," was the slurred reply.

"Then don't sleep," she snapped back, pulling on a pair of shorts from her dresser. Watching over Gaara she could handle, but _not_ in her underwear! "Just close your eyes and meditate or whatever."

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked. Kina lay down next to him and rested her head next to his on the pillow.

"Gaara-kun, as hurt as you are, I am not so giving as to let you have my bed all to yourself," she answered, cranky. "Night."

"Hn."

Gaara woke up when light hit his face. _Wait a second…_he thought. _I just 'woke up'?_ He sat up and looked around. This wasn't his room. He looked down and saw the girl curled against his body. And _that _wasn't his pillow! His mind flashed with what happened the night before and a small crack appeared in the sand wall surrounding his heart, right next to the one Naruto had created. He could still hear her voice in his mind.

"Gaara-kun…" 

"Gaara-sama, you're awake," the girl said shyly.

"It was Gaara-kun last night, Kinabuhi," Gaara replied, not looking at her.

"I-I'm sorry if I offended you, Gaara-sama."

"Hn," he muttered. "You didn't offend me. Call me whatever." He wasn't prepared for the hug Kina gave him.

_Holy shit! I'm hugging Gaara,_ Kina thought. She let go of the surprised Sand nin and pulled the sheets up to her neck. _Ugh! There's sand everywhere!_ Well, she had to do laundry today anyway. "Um…so you're alright now, Gaara-kun?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Kina…chan," he added. "Quite alright." He quickly got out of bed and headed for his room.

But not before Kina saw the slight blush on his cheeks.

00000000000000000

**December 24**

Kinabuhi was sad.

Gaara was surprised that he noticed this. It wasn't like the girl sat moping around all day or cried every time he looked at her. He noticed that for the past few days her eyes weren't as bright as they once were and her smile was a bit too wide. He even noticed that she was looking towards the east more often today. He didn't know why though. There was nothing to the east but a large ocean and after that…well, no one really knew. (6)

He could even hear it in her voice. After a lifetime of keeping his emotions held in, Gaara knew the heavy sound of tears in a person's voice very well.

_It might be because of the holiday,_ Shukaku murmured.

Gaara silently agreed.

Ever since the night Kina started to call him 'Gaara-kun,' Shukaku had calmed down quite a bit. The raccoon demon even allowed him a few hours of sleep a week without threatening to eat at his consciousness. But only when Kina was in the room and laying next to him.

He wanted to talk to her, but couldn't find the words.

Temari walked into the room to find Kina gazing out the window and her brother gazing at Kina.

_Well, well, well,_ she thought. _Isn't this interesting?_

00000000000000000

**December 31**

_Stupid, ignorant, hateful bastards!_

Gaara fumed as he strode out of the dining room of his own home.

_His _home!

_A man doesn't deserve to be disrespected and gossiped about in his own home!_ he seethed to himself.

_It would have been tolerable if Kina and Temari were allowed to eat with us. Stuffy old Council bastards. Let's kill them,_ Shukaku whispered.

The thought was tempting, but then Kina would have to clean up the mess. She _hated_ cleaning…especially blood and sand stains. Shukaku nodded his head at this and, surprisingly, quieted.

_You're turning into quite the puppy aren't you?_ Gaara asked the raccoon-dog demon.

_I noticed _you_ didn't tell those two assholes off…_was Shukaku's reply.

Reaching the roof, Gaara paused. There was already someone here.

_Kina's crying,_ Shukaku said.

"Kina-chan?" Gaara called out.

Kina jumped at his voice. "Oh, Gaara-kun," she answered. "How are you? Why aren't you at the party?"

He stiffened at the reminder of the New Years' Dinner and the men currently eating _his_ food and drinking _his _wine and sake. "It was getting boring," he said emotionlessly. "Nothing but aging shinobi ranting about the old days and the old ways. You know how it is, Kinabuhi."

Kina was about to smile at that when she got a good look at his face and heard what he had called her. Gaara never joked when he used her full name. "What happened?" she asked.

"What makes you think something happened?" Gaara asked back. _Damn! When did she get so good at reading me?_

She stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "You would have answered my question about the party with one of your annoying 'Hn' sounds instead of saying anything," she explained. "One of those _tontos_ said something to piss you off, didn't they?"

"What's a _tonto_?" Gaara asked.

"It means 'fool' or 'idiot,'" Kina supplied. "Now which _tonto_ said the stupid thing that brought you up here?"

"It's nothing," he waved off. "Just more of the same old, same old, same shit that I've seen and heard all my life."

"In your own _house_?" she gasped, unknowingly echoing his earlier thought. "No one's _that_ stupid!"

Gaara was surprised when a chuckle came out of his mouth. "Apparently, someone _is_ that stupid," he said. "But forget about that. Sit with me. You can tell my why you've been sad lately." There, he'd said it. He'd asked. If she didn't want to answer, then that was fine.

_The hell it is!_ Shukaku roared. _When Kina is in Suna she shouldn't have _any_ reason to be sad!_

"It's nothing that won't pass in time," Kina whispered, sitting next to him. "Just a little homesick. Must be the holiday." She turned and smiled at Gaara. "I'm sure I'll feel better when Temari-neechan and Kankuro-san come back from their mission and we're all together again."

Gaara gave a soft smile at the mention of his siblings. A smile that he only showed to Kina. "Why do you think it will get better? Those two are annoying, ne?"

Kina laughed and bumped Gaara's shoulder with her own. "Ever since you guys saved me, you've been like my family," she said softly. "Well, not _right away_ 'cause you were kind of a jerk. But after a few days…especially after Baki-sensei tested me…you all are the closest thing to home I have now. In fact, you guys _are_ my home now."

Gaara didn't know what to say. Sure he had forced her to stay in Suna for the first few weeks, but he didn't know that she had accepted it as her new home so completely. He was saved from forming a reply when bells started to ring and a dull roar could be heard from all over the village.

"Happy New Year, Gaara-kun," Kina said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Happy New Year, Kina-chan," he answered.

00000000000000000

**February 3**

"I am so BORED!" Kina yelled into the empty room.

When Temari and Kankuro still hadn't come back from their mission by mid-January, Gaara had gone after them to find out what went wrong. Since then, Kina was left alone with the order to "Not do something completely stupid" while Gaara was away. School was on break for now, so she didn't even have the excitement of dodging stray shuriken—seriously, whose bright idea was it to give 8-10 year olds extremely sharp objects? Everyone _knows_ you're not supposed to give children under the age of 11 anything more than a ball to play with.

Gaara had taken Baki-sensei as well, so Kina was left in Suna with no one she knew—shopkeepers and delivery men did _not_ count and her coworkers at the academy considered themselves _way_ too old to hang out with a 13 year old. Since the average age of the teachers was about 23, Kina didn't blame them.

She was completely bored out of her gourd!

_Hehe…gourd…Gaara-kun…_

She already counted the number of rooms the Mansion had and then after that counted the number of chairs in each room _and_ subtracted the combined ages of her, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro (she didn't know Baki's age, so couldn't add him into her equation) from the total number of chair legs in the house.

42.

She played the piano for two hours and then tried to play the weird looking instrument in the corner of the music room.

_Why does this thing have a hose and three dozen knobs on it?_ she thought to herself.

She had even counted the number of times the 'Suna' character appeared in the etchings on the edges of Gaara's desk.

5,406 and a half.

It was a BIG desk.

"Oh, God! I'm going INSANE!"

_I know! I'll redecorate one of the rooms!_

Kina raced down the hallway into Gaara's office. "Now where is it?" she asked. Ten minutes later, she triumphantly held up a manila envelope labeled: "Decorating Checkbook: Kazekage Mansion."

Laughing evilly, she looked around her. Which room would be the easiest to redecorate? A thought came to her then.

A very _evil_ thought…

00000000000000000

**February 5**

"That was worse than the attack on Konoha…" Baki muttered as he and his ex-students entered the Kazekage Mansion.

"I can't believe that they were that hard to handle," Temari agreed as she fell onto the nearest couch.

Kankuro came in next, dragging the parts of what used to be his puppets. "I'm gonna need to buy new puppets now…" he cried.

Gaara came in last…and looked the worst. His clothes were torn, green ink stained the skin on his entire right side—including his face—and it looked like he lost a fight with a lawn mower.

"Kina-chan!" he yelled. Shukaku wasn't in a good mood and he needed to see the girl before he killed someone…five particular someones.

"I don't know why we agreed to watch those quintuplets while their parents were on vacation…" Temari sighed. "They practically ran out of the house when they left. That should have been our first clue." (7)

"Kina-chan!" Gaara yelled again.

"They said it would be easy," Kankuro reminded.

"Kina-chan!"

"Watching 5 year olds is never easy," Baki said. "Any teacher at the Academy could have told you that."

"Kina-CHAN!"

"We watched those kids in Konoha…" Kankuro muttered. "They behaved themselves, most of the time."

"KINA-chan!"

"Konaha children have better manners than Suna children," Baki noted. "You also only had them for eight hours a day."

"They don't come in quintuplet form either," Gaara added. "KINA-CHAN!"

Suddenly, Kina appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She looked disheveled and smelled slightly of paint fumes. She stared at the four exhausted Sand shinobi and gasped.

"Gaara-kun! What happened? Why do you have bald patches in your hair? Wait…do you have 'Panda' shaved onto your head?" she asked quickly.

"Yes," Gaara answered. "I need rest. Come sleep with me in my bed."

The others looked shocked at this and Kina hurried to explain. "Shukaku only lets Gaara-kun sleep when I'm with him." Then she remembered something. "Gaara-kun, why don't we sleep in my room? It's closer."

"No. I want my bed." He started heading for the stairs.

"Why 'Panda'?" she asked, holding on to his arm. Well, screamed is more accurate.

"What?"

"Why is the word 'Panda' shaved into your head?" she demanded.

"Our mission objectives thought that Gaara looked like a panda," Kankuro answered, since it seemed that Gaara wouldn't. "It's the black circles around the eyes."

Kina murmured something that Temari could've sworn was: "So I'm not the only one."

"Don't you, like, like pandas, Gaara-kun?" she screamed into Gaara's ear.

"No."

She pouted and pulled on his arm to keep him from leaving. "Not even, like, a little bit?"

"No."

"Not one teensy little bit?"

"I'd rather mount one on my wall."

Kina's expression lightened. "So you like them as, like, decorations for your room, Gaara-kun?"

"No. Let's get to bed. Shukaku's not in a good mood and I really need to sleep."

"If I was a panda, Gaara-kun, you wouldn't, like, hurt me, like, right?"

Gaara froze at that insane question. "Why are you asking me that, Kinabuhi? You're not a panda."

Kina let go of Gaara's arm. It was never good when he used her full name. "You would never, like, hurt me, right, Gaara-kun?"

"What did you _do,_ Kinabuhi!"

She stared at Gaara for a few seconds before she broke and cried out, "I was bored! You guys were gone for, like, _ever_ and there was, like, _nothing_ to do!" (8)

(Away from the Panda and the Walking Corpse—ah, I mean, Kina)

"Kina-chan's talking strangely," Temari noted.

"You noticed too, huh?" Kankuro asked.

"This is very strange," Baki finished.

(Back to the pair)

"What _did_ you _do, _Kinabuhi!"

Closing her eyes, Kina blurted out, "I, like, redecorated your room!"

Silence…

She opened her eyes to see a dust trail starting from where Gaara had last been standing and heading for his room.

"I can fix it!" she wailed, running after him.

Baki looked over at Temari and said what they were all thinking. "I wonder what she redecorated his room as."

The answer came in the agonized yell of a demon in extreme pain.

"_**PANDAS! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE PANDAS!"**_

**

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A/N:**

Long chapter…sorry. I _really, really, REALLY _didn't want to split this up. This shows how Kina is being accepted into the Suna world and the growing relationship between her and the Sand nin…but mostly Gaara.

Next Chapter: Temari has a boyfriend? Kankuro knows how to ride a horse? What are Naruto and Jiraiya doing here?

**(1)** Think Kiba without the marks on his cheeks, round pupils, slightly older looking and taller. And wearing a school uniform…YUMMY!

**(2)** Hehehe…evil huh? Beware my sand castle wearing booty!

**(3)** Has anyone else noticed that Gaara has no eyebrows? He's like the Mona Lisa…or Whoopi Goldberg!

**(4) **You know those huge books that businesses use to balance their budgets? Well, a village will probably have several…it is like a small country, y'know.

**(5)** If Kyuubi can give Naruto super fast healing, why can't Shukaku do the same?

**(6) **Three guesses at what Kina was looking at…America! (It's to the east of Asia)

**Gaara**: Dude! You have to give them time to _guess!_

**blacksyryn**: Oops!

**(7) **Why should Team 7 get all of the crazy jobs? It's not fair I tells ya! Not fair!

**(8)** Yes, Kina is a Valley girl…or at least _was_ a Valley girl. It comes out when she's extremely stressed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not mine…

**A/N: **I really, really, REALLY didn't want to break up the last chapter, but it would have been waaaayy too long. 12 pages is enough, ne?

**

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Chapter 6: As the Months Pass By (Part 2)

**February 14**

Kina stood by the side of Suna Academy's large training field. She had taught the second year students the correct way to throw a kunai the day before and at the moment fifteen 8 year olds were trying to put theory to practice. Kina kept an eye out for any stray kunai and quickly hid a smile.

"Chou-kun, the target is over there…I don't care if Koki-chan is funnier to hit…no, blood isn't red because people eat too many peppers."

_Monsters, _she thought, not without a little affection. Kina turned slightly when she heard someone call her name.

"Kina-chan!" Temari yelled. Behind her stood three figures—shinobi, Kina realized as she saw their leg bandages. "Come here, I want you to meet some people!"

Kina raised her hand in acknowledgement and yelled back, "Later, Temari-neechan! I'll talk to you later!" _When will she learn not to bother me when I'm teaching?_ she asked herself as she jogged over to Chou's side. "Now you see why we only aim for paper targets or our enemies, Chou-kun? That hurt, didn't it?" she calmly asked the crying child.

"Damn," Temari sighed as she turned toward the three leaf shinobi next to her. "I wanted her to meet you guys before things got too busy."

"Oi, women are troublesome," Shikamaru said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyone can see that she's trying to teach a class, Temari."

"She's kind of young to be teaching at the Academy isn't she?" Ino asked the other girl.

Temari looked over at Kina and sighed. She did look young. Especially since she was so short—Kina stood over her students by no more than 6 inches. "Kina-chan's young, your age in fact, but she's very skilled. Especially in taijutsu," she replied.

At the mention of taijutsu, the third shinobi perked up.

"Then let us meet Kina-san at once!" Rock Lee roared, pumping his fists. "I wish to see this taijutsu master and see if she is worthy of being my springtime of youth rival!"

"Actually," Temari said, an idea forming in her head. "Now's a good time for our students to meet some shinobi that aren't from Suna. Follow me." The three Konoha shinobi shrugged and followed the blonde Sand nin.

Kina was in the act of bandaging Chou's leg when she noticed her student's sudden silence and felt the presence of four people behind her. She turned and stood up to see Temari and three familiar faces.

_Oh, no…_she thought. _Not him!_

"Temari-neechan," Kina said, stepping back with her right foot while touching her forehead and her navel with the first two fingers of her right and left hands, respectfully. (1) The three leaf ninja were puzzled by this odd salute and were even more so when the children mimicked their teacher. "How are you this afternoon?"

"I'm fine, Kina-chan. Mina-san," Temari said to the leaf nin. "These are Kinabuhi-chan and her students! Kina-chan, I have some very important guests to introduce to you. These are shinobi from Konoha."

"Nara Shikamaru…"

The brunette pulled one of his hands from his pockets and lazily raised it to his shoulder. "Yo."

"…Yamanaka Ino…"

Ino smiled at the students. "Hi!"

" …and Rock Lee."

Lee snapped his heels together and saluted. "May the springtime of youth shine on you always!"

The children immediately broke out in excited whispers about the leaf nin. Kina almost laughed at the chatter.

"Shikamaru-san is so cool and handsome!"

"Ino-neechan looks awesome! I wanna be a kunoichi like her!"

"He looks like he would _never _hit himself with a kunai…"

"Where did he get that outfit? I wonder if _I_ could get one?"

Kina almost gagged at the last statement. _Oh, Chou-kun…no!_

Temari heard Chou as well and had to cough several times before she could talk with a straight face. "They are here for an important mission," she explained. "I wonder if it would be alright with you if they showed our students some taijutsu and maybe one of them could spar with you?"

Kina looked at Lee with hesitation written on her face and searched for a way out of sparring with the fiery eyed taijutsu master. "Normally, I would welcome a match with another shinobi," she said apologetically. "But with the dinner tonight, I'm afraid I can't take the risk of any bruises forming."

"The dinner!" Temari groaned, smacking herself on the forehead. "I almost forgot! Shika-kun, did you bring your yukata like I asked?" _'Shika-kun'?_ Kina mouthed at Temari, holding up her pinky finger and raising her eyebrows—out of sight of the others, of course. (2) Temari nodded and Kina's smile grew.

"Yes, I did," Shikamaru answered. "It was troublesome, but I remembered that it was a requirement for the mission. Ino and Lee brought their formal clothes, too."

"Why did we have to bring them, Temari-san?" Ino asked politely.

"Tonight's the Valentine's Day dinner at the Kazekage's Mansion," one of the girls in the class answered. "My nii-san and his wife get to go, but I don't. It's a big party! Everyone has to have an escort!"

"May I be your escort for tonight, Kinabuhi-san?" Lee asked, grabbing her hand and bowing over it. The children burst into giggles at this—the girls sighed and Chou loudly vowed to be just like the leaf nin. (3)

_Oh, Chou-kun…HELL NO!_

"It's alright, Lee-san," Kina said, pulling her hand from Lee's grasp. "I already have an escort. Besides, shouldn't you escort Ino-san?" The blonde's blue eyes widened at this and she sent a venomous gaze to Kina.

_Sorry Ino,_ she thought. _But no way am I going to spend the evening listening to Lee._

_**(Later that night at the Kazekage's Mansion)**_

The three leaf nin had made plans to meet Kina, Temari, and her brothers in Gaara's drawing room. Shikamaru sat on one of the couches wearing a flattering forest green yukata with a subtle willow tree pattern. Lee stood in front of the bookcase pretending to read the titles. He was very uncomfortable in his dark orange yukata. He didn't wear the garment often and the loose material always made him feel as if he were naked instead of clothed.

Ino and Temari talked quietly on one of the window seats. Ino was dressed in a light yellow kimono with a flower pattern and had dark orange trim that—totally by coincidence according to the blue eyed leaf kunoichi—matched Lee's yukata. For once her hair was down and fell in soft waves around her face.

Temari wore a dark blue kimono that had silver threads woven into a fan-like pattern. Her hair was caught up in a soft bun at the top of her head that allowed a few strands to frame her beautiful face. Temari's kimono was obviously more expensive than the other girl's since the fabric caught the light and held it in the way only silk can. But to wear anything else would have been an insult to her brother's postition. (4)

Kankuro's clothes were no less expensive. The black silk of the yukata complemented his skin and the purple make-up was absent from his face. Ino was surprised at how handsome the Sand nin looked without it. The girl Kankuro decided to escort didn't seem too fazed by the fact that her date usually wore more make-up than she did, though. She was too busy chattering about the honor of going to the Kazekage's Mansion.

_Why did I ask her again? Someone either kill me or shut her up,_ Kankuro begged.

Kankuro's prayer was answered by the entrance of Kina and Gaara.

"I forbid you to wear that, Kinabuhi," Gaara growled.

"Well you're going to have to deal with it, Gaara-kun," Kina snapped back. "It's either this or I go down there naked."

Everyone, except Temari and Kankuro, was too surprised to see Kina enter the room from Gaara's _bedroom_—where she obviously had gotten dressed—to do more than gape at the fact that she had yelled at the quick tempered Kazekage. Not to mention the fact that the boy was practically bald. (5)

Gaara strode across the room and grabbed his sister's arm. He pointed at Kina, his Kazekage robes flaring dramatically. "Take her and let her borrow one of your kimonos," he demanded. "She is not going down to dinner dressed as she is!"

Temari looked over at the girl and shrugged. "She looks fine, Gaara," she said. Kina wore a dark purple kimono with black trim and silver embroidered herons on it. Her long hair was up in a bun exactly like Temari's and she held her silver and black fan in her right hand.

"I'll say," Lee muttered.

"What did you say?" Gaara demanded. Lee quickly shook his head and turned away. "She does _not _look fine!" He stomped over to Kina's side and turned her around. The other's gasped as they saw why Gaara was so upset.

While the front of Kina's dress looked like any other traditional kimono, the back was a different story altogether. In fact it was a different story because there _was _no back! The tight sleeves of the kimono were the only things keeping the upper part of the dress up while the long expanse of her back was bare up to the small of her back. There, the fabric of the skirt covered Kina's butt and flowed to the floor in elegant waves.

"It's indecent!" Gaara growled again. "Temari, get one of your kimonos on her at once!"

Kina turned to face Gaara and poked him in the chest. "Let me tell you something, Mr. Panda-man," she growled back. "Where I'm from, this is perfectly decent! I'm not showing anything but my back and I don't intend to show anything else!"

The others in the room looked at each other in shock. _Mr. Panda-man?_

Gaara grabbed her hand and pinned it to his shoulder with his own. "Kinabuhi," he said slowly. "We are not in your homeland. We are about to have dinner with many important Feudal Lords and other possible clients. I cannot have you parading around like a geisha!"

Kina's eyes started to tear up and to the horror of both Gaara and herself she whimpered. "But none of Temari's kimonos will fit me," she whispered. "I designed this dress myself, Panda-kun. The seamstress liked it, why don't you?"

Gaara sighed and shook his head. "Fine," he conceded. "Wear your dress. But please find a way to cover your back for most of the night, ne?"

Ino was stunned by this seemingly nicer and friendlier Gaara. She looked over at Shikamaru and subtly raised a pinky. The shadow user shrugged, but lazily winked at Ino, agreeing with her assessment.

"I have an idea," she said. Gaara looked over at the leaf kunoichi. He had forgotten that Konoha had sent them as emissaries. "If Kina-san let her hair down then maybe…"

Everyone was shocked again by Gaara's violent response. "NO!"

Kina understood the problem. "I don't have to let it all down, Gaara-kun," she said, gripping his fingers from where he still held her hand to his shoulder. "Maybe only half?"

The Kazekage snorted and pointed to his room. "Ino-san," he said patiently. "Please accompany Kina-chan to the mirror and help her with her hair. Don't take too long," he added coldly. "My guests are waiting."

Kina beckoned Ino to follow her into Gaara's bedroom. Ino followed and almost gaped at the sight before her. It figured into her expectation of Gaara's room…sort of. There were plenty of pieces of dark furniture, but it was the shocking amount of panda accessories in the room that stunned her. There were panda bed sheets, panda figurines, even a panda alarm clock.

She turned to Kina and waited.

"Hehehe," the girl laughed nervously. She sat at a vanity table and started to take the pins from her hair. "I got bored a few weeks ago and redecorated Gaara-kun's room. He made me give all of the furniture back, but decided to keep some of the other things."

Ino picked up the brush and started to style Kina's astonishingly long hair. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I like them," was Kina's simple response. "Gaara-kun knows that I won't sleep here unless he keeps them and he doesn't like the mattress in my room."

Ino almost dropped the heavy brush on her foot. _Sleep here? She _sleeps _in Gaara's room?_ She decided to keep her questions to herself for now…the others were waiting. "Okay, done," she said.

Kina looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Ino had placed her hair in a high ponytail with some strands framing her face. The ends covered her back, but didn't leave her hair too loose. Gaara would have to be happy with that.

"Can I ask why Gaara doesn't want you to let your hair down as much as he doesn't want people to see your back?" Ino asked before they left the room.

"Gaara's the only one besides you and Temari who've seen me with my hair completely unbound," Kina answered. "He's also the only one with enough patience to brush it after I bathe. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have cut it a months ago."

Ino was shocked for what seemed like the twentieth time that night. She had learned two new things about Gaara, the Kazekage:

1) He had a fetish for long hair.

2) He was a more than a little possessive of Kinabuhi.

When she entered the drawing room, Lee was sitting next to Shikamaru while Temari talked with Kankuro and his date. Gaara looked Kina over and nodded. He offered the girl his elbow and Ino noticed that he now had a full head of red hair.

_Must be a genjutsu,_ she decided. Lee offered her his arm and she took it as Temari and Kankuro claimed their dates. They all walked down the hallway and toward a huge staircase that led to the dining room. She saw Kina whisper something into Gaara's ear and found herself looking into the Kazekage's clear green eyes.

"Thank you for your help, Ino-chan," the boy said.

Ino nodded dumbly and held onto Lee's arm for dear life. _Gaara called me 'Ino-chan,'_ she thought. _What the hell?_

00000000000000000

**April 4**

Kina almost wished that it was a school day, then she could forget what today was. The chuunin sat in the drawing room of the Kazekage suite. It had been almost two months since Gaara had ordered her to move into his suite of rooms. It wasn't as bad as most of the servants were whispering. She and Gaara didn't sleep together in the way that they all thought.

The suite consisted of two bedrooms connected by a dressing room and a drawing room that connected the suite to the rest of the mansion. Though it was true that Kina spent most nights in Gaara's room, it was usually because she had gotten as used to sleeping next to him as he had gotten used to sleeping next to her.

Shukaku still bothered the boy, but not when Kina was around to hold him. For some reason, the demon retreated and even became friendly when she was around. When she asked Gaara the reason why, he had said something about her hair and the way she smelled. She had shrugged and let it go at that. It wasn't as if Gaara was interested in her romantically.

In fact, he barely tolerated her most days. He did care for her, though. They had become best friends in a manner of speaking.

_But there are some things you can't even tell your best friends,_ Kina admitted to herself.

She closed her eyes as she tried to remember her brother's face. The image was blurred and she couldn't recall if his hair was spiky like Gaara's or longer like Shikamaru's. Tears burned her eyes as she rested her head against the window. Today was his twentieth birthday and she wasn't even there to celebrate it with him.

_Kuya…are you worried about me?_ (6)

Kina looked up when the door opened and Kankuro stepped into the room. "Oi, Kina," he said. "You're looking pretty down. What's wrong?"

"Nothing you can fix, Kankuro-san," Kina said.

The older boy nodded and sat down next to her. "At least you're not lying to me."

She laughed and rested her chin on her upraised knee. "I learned my lesson the first time, Kankuro-san."

They stayed silent for a while when Kankuro spoke up. "Do you want to meet a few friends of mine?"

"I'm not really in the mood to talk to people today," she answered.

"Who said anything about people?" the puppet master asked. Kina raised her head and looked at him. She stood up and held out her hand. Kankuro took this as a yes and grabbed it.

"Here we are!" Kankuro said a few minutes later as they entered a large building.

Kina was confused by the smell of animals, hay, and manure. But when a large head appeared on her right, she almost squealed with joy. "Horses!"

Kankuro watched as she rushed to the animal and ran her hand down its neck. "Guess you like horses," he said.

"Yes! Me and Kuya used to ride all the time back home…"

If Kankuro noticed the way the sentence trailed off or the sadness in her voice, he didn't give any indication. Instead, he grabbed two bridles from the wall. "C'mon," he said. "Let's go for a ride. I'll show you my spot."

Kina quickly harnessed and mounted a brown mare named Nightshade while Kankuro rode a black gelding he called Nightsmoke.

"They're siblings," he explained at her raised eyebrow.

They rode out of the stable and towards the gates of Suna. Kina was excited. This was the first time she was allowed to leave Suna since Gaara had brought her to the desert village. She tried to ignore the whispers around her as she and Kankuro rode down the street.

"Isn't that the Kazekage's geisha?" one woman whispered.

"Why is she with Kankuro-san? Is she tired of Kazekage-sama already?" another asked.

"What manner of woman allows a monster in her bed?"

That last statement almost broke her composure. Kankuro, who had heard each statement and memorized the faces of those who uttered them, urged his horse into a gallop, knowing that Kina's mount would automatically do the same. Kina was glad for the speed. Now she could blame the dampness on her cheeks on the wind rushing by her face.

Soon they were in the open desert and Kina let the horse have her head. They rode for what seemed like hours before they reached a trio of dunes. Kankuro had halted his horse and seemed to be waiting for something.

Kina looked at the scene in front of her and blinked. Immediately, the genjutsu was dispelled and she saw a beautiful oasis complete with lagoon and shade trees.

"Kankuro-san!" she gasped. "This is amazing. Is this your 'spot'?"

He nodded and dismounted. "Yes it is. C'mon, let's tie up the horses and go for a swim."

She followed him and tied her horse to a convenient tree. "I didn't bring a suit."

"Then swim in your shorts and bindings," he waved off her protest as he started to strip off his clothes. "It's hot enough that we'll be completely dry in 15 minutes anyway."

Kina knew that what he said was true and decided to go for a swim, too. After a bit of energetic swimming and splashing, the two shinobi decided to dry off in the shade. Kankuro picked some fruit and watched Kina unbind her hair so that it could dry.

After a few minutes of watching her finger comb her long hair, Kankuro asked the question he brought her here to ask. "Are you going out with Gaara?"

Kina paused in her brushing and looked over at her friend. "Would it bother you if I was?" she asked back.

Kankuro reached out and grabbed a lock of her hair. It was longer than he had imagined. The night of the Valentine's Day dinner, her hair had been in a high ponytail and even then the ends had reached almost to the back of her knees. In reality, her hair probably reached to her ankles. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was a bit obsessed with it. (7)

"Not really," he finally said. "I don't think of you that way. I don't think of _any_ woman that way, really."

"_Any _woman, or just any woman you've met so far?" she asked.

He shrugged and looked away. "Either one, both, I don't know." He looked back at the girl sitting beside him and smiled. "I don't want you to get hurt, Kina-chan."

"So I'm 'Kina-chan' now, Kankuro-niichan?" she asked laughingly.

"I'm serious."

Kina sighed and leaned against the older teen. "I know. I'll be fine, Kankuro-kun."

"If he hurts you, he's dead," Kankuro whispered.

She laughed again and started to braid her hair again. "You sound just like Kuya."

"Who is he?" he asked, peeling the fruit he had picked.

Kina started to wind the braid around her hair like a crown. "My brother…" she answered. Her hands dropped to her lap and she stared at them sadly. "It's his birthday today and this is the first time I haven't been there to celebrate it with him."

"Oh." Kankuro was silent for a while before he offered Kina a piece of fruit. "Date?"

"Yes, thank you," she said, reaching for it.

"How 'bout next Thursday?" he asked, pulling the fruit away quickly. He laughed as Kina playfully hit him and took the fruit. (8)

"_Baka,"_ she whispered.

_**(Kazekage Mansion)**_

"Where is Kinabuhi?"

The servant quaked at the question. He didn't want to be the one to tell the Kazekage that his woman had left with his brother. But the way the question had been asked left no room for disobedience.

"She left early this morning," the servant muttered. "With Kankuro-sama."

Silence…

"Leave me," Gaara said angrily.

_What is she doing with Kankuro?_ he wondered to himself. He looked out the window and noticed that it was dusk. _They'd better get home soon, _he growled.

At that moment, the door to the drawing room opened and Kankuro strolled in, followed by a laughing Kina. Gaara masked his chakra and muttered an invisibility genjutsu.

"Thanks for the company, Kankuro-kun," she said, looking up at the teen with a huge smile on her face. "You really were a big help."

Kankuro smiled and brought his hand up to play with a lock of her hair. He was unaware that Gaara was in the room, growling at his brother. "Anything for you, Kina-chan," he said. "Now get to sleep. I think all of that riding wore you out."

Gaara's temper grew as Kina leaned up and kissed Kankuro gently on the cheek. She turned and walked over to her room—not the one she shared with Gaara—and smirked. "As if!" she shot back.

Gaara stood there long after both doors had closed, struggling to keep hold of his temper. He would not kill his brother and he couldn't hurt Kina to save his life. He dispised himself for that weakness, but could only think of one thing.

"_Thanks for the company, Kankuro-kun…Kankuro-kun…Kankuro-kun…"_

Kina never thanked Gaara for _his _company.

00000000000000000

**August 18**

"Sorry to come in at such an early hour," the white haired sannin apologized. "But it's much easier to travel at night when heading over here."

"Only for those not used to it," Kankuro laughed. "Don't worry about it. Gaara's usually training with Kina-chan right about now. If you want to, Jiraiya-sama, we could go over there now and that way you can say whatever you need to say _then_ go to sleep."

"It certainly looks as though you need it," Temari joked as she slapped a tired looking Naruto on the back.

"Oi, I'm not that bad," he complained. "Am I?"

"Yes, you are," came the reply from three different mouths.

As the quartet made their way through the quiet village, Jiraiya asked, "Who is this Kina-chan and why is she training with the Kazekage?"

"It's more like Gaara's training _her_ rather than training _with _her," Kankuro said.

"Is she that Kinabihi Ino was blabbering about?" Naruto asked. "Gaara's girlfriend?"

"Her name is Kina_buhi_, Naruto," Temari corrected. "And she is _not_ Gaara's girlfriend, she runs his household and acts as his secretary. Like how Shizune-san is Tsunade-sama's secretary." They entered the Kazekage's mansion and followed the blonde kunoichi. "They're probably in the dojo."

As they got closer to the _shouji_ screened area, they heard the familiar voice of Gaara murmur something. Four pairs of eyes widened in shock as the shadows of Gaara and Kina were outlined against the thin screen. The Kazekage was obviously on his back while the female—and Jiraiya _knew_ that this shadow was definitely female—sat on top of him. Since they were supposed to be training, this wouldn't have shocked the others to the extent that it did, but it was what they heard next that caused their jaws to drop.

"Yes! Finally!" a husky voice cried out with joy.

"Hn," Gaara grunted. "That was exhausting and I didn't even do anything."

The shadow tossed her hair back and planted her hands on the Kazekage's chest. The watchers couldn't help but imagine with their perverted minds—one obviously more perverted than the rest **cough:Jiraiya:cough**—the wicked smile on Kina's face as she laughed.

"What do you mean you didn't do anything? I couldn't do it without your support!" the girl said, laying her head down on the boy's chest. "I would have given up even trying if it hadn't been for you here to keep pushing at me until I succeeded."

Naruto gulped and Jiraiya wiped a small amount of blood from his upper lip as they watched Gaara's shadowed hand run through the girl's hair. "I have to admit," the Sand nin said quietly. "You've gotten better at it. The first time you tried it, you were pathetic."

Kankuro choked and Temari made a move to cover her ears—but managed to keep her fingers open so that she could still hear what was going on.

"Thanks a lot," Kina said sarcastically.

"I mean you were _really _pathetic" Gaara said emotionlessly.

"Well," the husky voice of Kina said. "Practice does make perfect, Panda-kun."

"Who are you calling 'Panda-kun,' Kina-chan?" Gaara laughed, finally getting into the spirit of the moment. But this wasn't the normal psycho, "I'm gonna kill you now," Shukaku laugh that everyone knew and feared. This was the laugh of a happy and content teenager—which was a miracle in of itself.

The four in the hallway froze in shock…well, even more shock. Only one thought ran through their heads: _Gaara is laughing!_ Temari grabbed Jiraiya and Naruto's arms and backed slowly down the hallway. If Gaara found them now, they wouldn't even have time to close their eyes in fear before he killed them. Kankuro followed his sister's example and held his breath, a wide smile on his face. _You go get him, Kina-chan,_ he thought.

Once they were in one of the mansion's many drawing rooms, _very_ far away from the dojo, Jiraiya broke the uneasy silence.

"If that's what a Kage's secretary does, then I have to do some extra 'research' on Tsunade and Shizune when we get back home," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin.

**_(In the Dojo)_**

Gaara looked down at the sweating Kina on his chest and grunted again. "As happy as I am for you, Kinabuhi," he said. "Get off me, you're heavier than you look."

Things were always serious when Gaara called her "Kinabuhi."

Kina immediately jumped up and held her hand out to her friend. "Sorry, Panda-kun!" she replied. "I just got so excited!"

Taking her hand, he got up and walked over to his water bottle, stepping over a shuriken covered log in the process. "I'm just glad that you finally got the hang of it. Figures that you can only perform _kawarimi no jutsu_ when you're in a battle situation."

"How'd you figure that out?" Kina asked, drinking from her own bottle.

"From what you've told me about _Escrima_ fighting, it's purely for self defense," Gaara explained. "_Kawarimi no jutsu_ was designed for self preservation, so your own moral code allowed you to use it."

"Explain that whole thing to me again," she asked. "I just don't get it."

Gaara sighed and touched her 'demon' tattoo on her right arm. "You have chakra," he explained. "A large amount of it, actually. But it's been bound somehow by this tattoo." He then touched the 'blood' tattoo on her other arm. "This other tattoo, the 'blood'—"

"It means life," Kina interrupted.

"—tattoo allows some of your chakra to leak through the 'lid.' It goes straight to your eyes because that's how you were trained. (9) But with the right concentration, you should be able to perform ninjutsus. It looks like you're limited to defensive ones, but that's enough," Gaara finished.

"What would you have done if it didn't work and I ended up a pin-cushion?" Kina asked.

"Taken you to the hospital, of course," was Gaara's answer.

Anything Kina might have said to that statement was cut short by a loud crash from another part of the mansion along with the sound of more than one person screaming.

"_ERO-SENNIN!"_

"It seems that Jiraiya and Naruto are here," Gaara calmly stated. "Why don't we clean up and meet them in my office?"

Kina smiled and saluted her "boss" with her water bottle. "Sure thing, Panda-kun!"

"Don't call me that!" But she didn't hear him; she was already gone.

**

* * *

A/N:**

Another long chapter…sooo, Gaara's jealous, Kankuro is Kina's friend who may also be interested in Kina, Temari's with Shikamaru, everyone thinks Kina is Gaara's girlfriend, and Jiraiya is…Jiraiya.

Next Chapter: Field Trip! Off to Konoha, everyone!

**(1) **This is a salute that _Escrima_ fighters give to opponents. I have Kina give this to people she respects. _Escrima_ is Filipino martial arts.

**(2) **Holding the pinky up is a way of expressing the fact that someone has a significant other in Japan.

**(3) **Gai Clone 3: The Next Generation! Heheheh…

**(4) **Since Gaara's the Kazekage, he and his family need to dress with care and fitting to their stations.

**(5) **Remember in the last chapter how the kids shaved the word "panda" into his head? Well, he couldn't just leave it like that!

**(6)** "Kuya" means older brother in Tagalog

**(7) **I guess the long hair fetish runs in the family, ne? Hehe…

**(8)** Yay! "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" is one of the funniest movies EVER! Mel Brooks is a genius.

**(9) **_Escrima_ fighters are trained to take extra note of every detail in a fight visually speaking.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto…

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait for this chapter…I was at my mom's house for the weekend and she doesn't believe in the internet. So glad that I'm back at my apartment with my handy dandy internet.

**

* * *

**

Chapter 7: Meetings and Such

By the time Gaara and Kina joined the others in the drawing room, Kankuro had managed to clear the debris of what was once a set of very nice, very expensive, tea tables from the room, Temari stood next to a now calm Naruto, and Jiraiya had just regained consciousness. Kina stood behind and slightly to the left of the Kazekage and looked at the boy that she knew so much about, but had never seen in person.

She almost laughed out loud. The orange jumpsuit wearing teen looked terrible. Sand was stuck to random places of his body, his hair was a mess and his forehead protector was on backwards. He looked like an angry cat—especially with his whiskers and the fact that his hair was mussed in a way that made him look like he had cat ears.

Naruto knew that the girl was staring at him. He felt his face grow suddenly warm. She was prettier than Ino and Lee said she was. She was tanned and toned, but living in Suna, he didn't expect anything less. _She must've changed after the "training" session,_ Naruto realized. The girl was now dressed in a light purple kimono with a blue obi. He couldn't help but notice that the obi perfectly matched the blue on Gaara's Kazekage robes.

_Strange,_ Kina thought as she continued to stare at the boy. _I can't decide if he's blushing or if he just has a sunburn from the desert._

Gaara had noticed Naruto's redness as well, but had no illusions as to why the boy was red. He stepped closer to Kina and loosely wrapped his arm around her waist. "Jiraiya, Naruto. I would like to know your reasons for disturbing my household so early in the morning," Gaara calmly demanded.

Naruto looked at his sensei and realized that he wouldn't be able to answer any questions for a while. "Well," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Tsunade-baachan sent us here on a mission. We have some information to give to you."

"Will it take long for you to deliver this information?" the girl asked.

Naruto's blush deepened as he remembered her husky voice from the dojo. "It _is_ a long report and Ero-sennin isn't really up for giving it to you." Naruto was shocked when the girl leaned into Gaara's side and whispered into his ear, her lips almost touching the Kazekage's ear.

Gaara grunted and gave a small nod. "Kina-chan has persuaded me to let you rest a bit before our meeting," Gaara smirked. "She's of the opinion that you would like to bathe."

"More like they _need_ to bathe," Kina whispered into Gaara's ear. The Sand nin choked back a laugh at this and kept the frown on his face, but his eyes were smiling.

"Your Lady shows exquisite insight into the needs and desires of her guests!" Jiraiya, apparently recovered from the glomping he had received, said. He gallantly bowed to Kina and attempted to grab her hand. Gaara prevented the perverted hermit from doing so by taking her hand himself. "A more exceptional Lady Kazekage you could never have chosen!"

Kina was stunned by Jiraiya's assumption that _she_ was Gaara's 'Lady,' but quickly recovered. She opened her mouth to correct the man, but Gaara spoke instead.

"Yes," he said simply, leading Kina from the room. "She is exceptional."

"Temari-neechan," Kina asked, turning slightly to face the older girl. She didn't understand why Temari refused to meet her eyes. "Could you show Jiraiya-sama and Naruto-san to Gaara-kun's office once they've cleaned themselves up?"

"Of course, Kina-chan," Temari replied. "Where will their rooms be?"

Gaara looked at Kina and nodded again. She turned to the two Konoha shinobi and smiled. "They will be in the Guest Suite across from the Kazekage's rooms," she answered. "Jiraiya-sama, Naruto-san, if you would follow us, we will show you to your rooms."

Jiraiya and Naruto gathered their belongings and followed the pair upstairs to a suite of rooms. As they were climbing the stairs, Jiraiya turned to Naruto and—in true Ero-sennin mode—whispered to Naruto, "Now _that_ is a perfect example of soon to be ripened fruit."

Thankfully, Kina didn't hear the remark. Otherwise, the hermit would have found himself with a black eye—legendary Sannin or no.

Unfortunately, Gaara _did_ hear the old man.

Kina was busy wondering what could bring the two shinobi to Suna when a yelp and a loud 'boom' sounded behind her. She tried to turn around and help, but Gaara tightened his grip on her waist and urged her to their suite.

"It's nothing, Kinabuhi," he calmly stated. "He must've tripped on the stairs."

Kina knew better than to believe Gaara's lame excuse, but let it go. After all, he never used her full name unless he was either serious or angry.

00000000000000000

It was a very different Jiraiya that entered Gaara's office an hour later. Gone was the joking ero-sennin and in his place was a very serious Sannin. Naruto looked serious as well. Not the "I'm serious…seriously not understanding what's going on" act Naruto was known for, but the quieter, sadder demeanor that too often graced his features ever since Sasuke's betrayal.

Kina was shocked and saddened by the change in Naruto. She couldn't bear to have the normally energetic boy look so down. She offered the two tea, but they declined. She returned to her seat to the left of Gaara's chair. Temari sat on his right, while Kankuro stood by the door. Kina knew that two of Suna's ANBU stood guard outside and that the office had been sound-proofed and protected by a perimeter jutsu.

"Perhaps, you should ask your Lady to retire herself," Jiraiya suggested, a frown on his face. "The news I have is not for ears such as hers."

"You have information concerning Akatsuki, don't you?" Gaara asked. Kina stiffened at the name. Last month, Gaara had finally managed to get her to tell him what she remembered from the time before he saved her. The boy's eyes had hardened when she mentioned Itachi's name and his sand had reacted rather violently.

"Yes," Jiraiya answered.

Gaara took Kina's hand and gently pushed the sleeve of her kimono off her right shoulder, revealing the _alibata_ characters on it. The _yawa_ tattoo was a vivid red against her tanned skin. (1) "Itachi is the one responsible for this," Gaara growled softly. He gently raised Kina's sleeve to cover her shoulder once more. "He also performed some sort of justu that prevents Kinabuhi from molding her chakra correctly. If it is for the reason I believe it is, then Kinabuhi has more right to hear your news than any one of us. With the exception of myself and Naruto, of course."

Temari, and Kankuro were confused, but Gaara, Jiraiya, and Naruto were even more serious—if that was possible.

The frog hermit folded his arms over his chest and frowned once more. "Your fears are well founded, Kazekage-sama," he said. "But I would rather share this information with as few people as necessary."

The Kazekage nodded and turned to his sister. "Temari, Kankuro, please excuse us." Temari looked at her brother and nodded. She followed Kankuro out of the office and closed the door behind them.

"Now what is Akatsuki planning?" Gaara demanded.

"We're not sure," Jiraiya admitted. "But it requires them to collect as many demon vessels as possible."

Kina wasn't surprised to hear this. After all, that's what they were after in the anime as well. _Too bad I was transported here before I knew _why_ they need us._ It had taken her two hours after she first woke up in Itachi's tent to figure out that—in this reality—she was a demon, or at least was a vessel for one. The tattoo on her shoulder only reinforced her suspicion. (2)

Now Gaara's comments and Jiraiya's news confirmed them.

"So Kinabuhi-sama is a demon vessel, too?" Naruto asked, catching onto the others train of thought faster than people would expect out of the former drop out.

"Yes," Kina answered for Gaara, surprising him. "Although, my demon hasn't spoken to me since Itachi bound her."

_How does she know about her demon?_ Gaara asked Shukaku. _She always seems confused whenever you talk to her._

_It's probably _because_ I can talk to her that she suspected, _the raccoon-dog demon answered.

Gaara knew that this was most likely the case. Kina was smart and would have known that Shukaku wouldn't speak to just any person's mind. If he could, half of the household would have been insane by now.

"So you can't mold chakra at all?" Jiraiya asked.

Kina looked over at Gaara and he gestured with his hand for her to speak. As of this moment, it was _her_ meeting—they were just using his office.

"I can use only a little bit," she admitted. "And it goes straight for my eyes if I don't concentrate correctly."

"Your eyes?"

"Yes," Gaara answered. "At first we thought that she had a bloodline limit."

"I can see through genjutsu almost immediately," she added.

"And she can perform complicated taijutsu maneuvers at an almost blinding speed without using any chakra except for her eyes," Gaara said. "That's when we knew she was a freak."

Jiraiya and Naruto looked on as Kina laughed and hit Gaara's shoulder. "Better a freak than a bloodthirsty killer," she said.

Instead of glowering and retreating back into himself as Naruto expected, Gaara laughed back and rubbed his shoulder. "But that's what makes us the perfect couple," he joked and tugged on the long braid that circled her head like a crown.

Naruto couldn't help it anymore. First this morning in the dojo, Gaara was laughing. Then in the drawing room, Gaara had put his arm around the girl and smiled. Now, the guy that had almost killed him was joking about _being_ a killer!

"Nani?" he screamed, pointing at the teenagers. "Almost two years ago you were out to kill me and now you have a girlfriend and you're joking and laughing and…I get it! You're a _henge_! You're not Gaara! Where is he?"

Kina was shocked when Naruto threw a volley of shuriken at them. Gaara's sand immediately flew up to protect them, but Naruto was too pumped up to see this and lunged to the side, kunai drawn.

She pulled out her favorite silver and black fan and released the blades from the fan. She stepped up to the leaf ninja and quickly disarmed him. Kina grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back. She pressed the blade against his throat and growled at the blonde boy.

"We just finished telling you that I can see through genjutsus," she snarled. "What makes you think that I would allow someone to mimic Gaara with something as pitiful as _henge no jutsu_?"

"You're this guy's girlfriend; of course you'd go with whatever he says!" Naruto stupidly complained.

"I am _not_ some fawning, clingy female, _baka_!" she muttered and pressed the blade closer to his throat. Kina felt blood on her fingers and realized that it was Naruto's. Her unusual purple eyes started to glow and brighten while her eyes became more tilted as she sniffed at the blood. Something about Naruto angered something in herself. She didn't notice it until the fox boy got close to her.

Gaara and Jiraiya watched with interest. Chakra was pouring off of Kina in waves now. Instead of the normal blue chakra, her chakra was a light purple. _What is it with demon vessels and strange colored chakra?_ Jiraiya asked himself.

Gaara was ready to tear the two apart at the slightest threat to Kina.

"I can't believe that _you_ of all people can't believe that people can change and find goodness within themselves!" She felt her back start to itch and let go of him. She dropped her fan and looked at Gaara in confusion. "Gaara-kun? I feel funny…"

Gaara and Jiraiya had only a second to prepare before purple chakra burst from Kina's body. Naruto wasn't so lucky. The chakra blast caused him to fly into the wall. Temari and Kankuro opened the door only to have Gaara shout at them.

"Close that door!" he yelled. "Reinforce the perimeter jutsu and don't allow any chakra to leak from this room!" The siblings stared at their brother for a second then nodded and shut the door. Jiraiya could hear Kankuro yelling at the ANBU team through the wood.

They looked to where Kina stood and gaped at the changes in her appearance. Her kimono had slipped off of her shoulders and her hair had unbound itself. The long coils of hair pooled over her shoulders and onto the floor. Gaara couldn't be certain, but it looked like it had actually grown _longer_.

Kina stared at Gaara and wickedly smiled at him. She let the kimono slip off of her body completely and stood in her black undershorts, a mesh tank top, and black chest bindings. Her hair covered her like some sort of strange cloak and she laughed at the stunned looks on the males' faces. She stared at them with slanted eyes and lifted her hand to her mouth. The Sand nin felt his heart lurch as she slowly licked Naruto's blood off of her fingertips.

_Mine!_ Shukaku roared inside Gaara's mind. Gaara was about to grab her when Jiraiya's arm across his chest stopped him.

"I know what you're thinking, boy," the white haired Sannin said. "But there's no way I can handle all three of you losing control."

_Three?_ Gaara looked over at Naruto and noticed that his eyes had gone red and that red chakra started to surround him.

"I can handle Kinabuhi-sama," Jiraiya ordered. "You take care of Naruto." Before Gaara could object, the older man jumped in front of Kina and grabbed her shoulders. He was a bit too late however, because three kunai were headed for the kyuubi vessel. Gaara reacted without thinking. Forgetting about his sand shield, he stepped in front of Naruto and took the kunai meant for him.

Everyone in the room froze.

Kina woke from the trance she was in and blinked.

"Gaara-kun!" Kina finally broke the spell and ran to the fallen boy. Her eyes returned to their normal color and she reigned in her chakra. "Gaara-kun, why?" she cried. She couldn't believe that he stepped in front of Naruto. She couldn't even remember why she was mad at the blonde.

Gaara gasped as she pulled the kunai from his body. "Don't worry," he said. "For a taijutsu teacher, you have terrible aim."

"I must be having an off day." Kina laughed weakly. Gaara was right…the kunai had only hit his shoulder, left arm, and leg. "I'm so sorry," she said, lying next to the redhead. "I don't know what happened."

"I have an idea," Jiraiya said. He stood over the couple, Naruto beside him, and shook his head. "But it can wait a few hours. You _all_ need to calm down. Naruto," the boy turned toward his sensei and raised his eyebrows. "I hope you can see now that Gaara is Gaara and not a _henge_. Gaara-sama, Kinabuhi-sama, please, just rest. I will talk to you later. C'mon Naruto, we need to work out your punishment for attacking the Kazekage."

"What?"

The older man took the blonde by the ear and pulled him out of the room. Once outside, he addressed both the Suna ANBU and Gaara's siblings.

"The Kazekage and his Lady are fine. But they need rest. I suggest that they be taken to their rooms and not disturbed for any reason. They will know when they can be around people again."

Temari bowed to the Sannin while Kankuro rushed into the room. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," she said. "How long will you be staying with us?"

Jiraiya looked behind Temari and saw Kankuro and a now dressed Kina help Gaara to his rooms. "Until they call for us," he answered.

The Sand kunoichi nodded and entered Gaara's office. _Oh my God,_ she thought. _It looks like a sandstorm came through here!_

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Kina and Gaara were lying in Gaara's bed. Kina wore only her undershorts and the mesh top while Gaara wore only his pants. She remained silent as Gaara told her what happened in his office with short, gruff sentences.

"So my demon manifested itself," she murmured.

Gaara ran his hand down her hair and nodded. "She gave you some of her chakra, Kina-chan. Can't you feel it?"

She laid her head on his chest and sighed. "I feel a little stronger and my eyesight is suddenly clearer, but that's it. I don't feel any different. But…"

"But what, Kina-chan?"

"There was a moment when I could hear Shukaku," she admitted. Kina sat up and felt Gaara's hand trail down her back. "He screamed out _'Mine!'_ The only times I can hear Shukaku is when we're like this—together. But he talked to me when I was across the room." She turned to her friend. "What's going on?"

Gaara sat up and pushed her hair off of her shoulder. He traced the tattoo on her shoulder and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But it's not something we're going to figure out right away."

He summoned his sand to retrieve the hairbrush from Kina's dresser and showed it to the girl. "Your hair's a mess," he stated. "And it's longer than it was this morning. Let me brush it."

He moved so that he could sit against the headboard and waited until Kina sat in front of him, in between his spread legs. Kina knew that, besides sleeping next to him, brushing her hair calmed Gaara down the most. She didn't understand why her hair was so long. Before she woke up in this world, her hair barely reached her shoulders. Now she was stuck with locks that reached her ankles.

_Well now they probably can drag on the floor,_ she thought.

Gaara brushed her hair for the next 45 minutes in complete silence. Kina couldn't take it anymore and said, "This is too much of a hassle. I should just cut it."

"Cut it and you will be punished," was Gaara's response.

"But it's getting to be too unmanageable!" Kina complained. "That braid is getting too damn heavy sitting on my head all day long. It takes too long to wash and way too long to brush. You're the only one I know who can stand to do either one…and it's _my _hair!"

"Again, I say: cut it and you will be punished," Gaara calmly said, completing another brushstroke. "I love your hair. The way it smells, the way it feels," Gaara—in an extremely un-Gaara like move—suddenly buried his face in the black strands and sniffed. "It brings me peace."

"Can't I cut it a little bit, Gaara-kun?" she pleaded. "A foot at least, I don't want to drag it around on the floor when I walk. I can braid what I cut and you can carry it with you if you like my hair so much."

Gaara considered this for a moment and nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "Tomorrow you can cut your hair. But I want that braid, Kinabuhi."

She nodded and again they fell into a comfortable silence. Gaara continued to brush her hair, even when all of the tangles were taken care of.

"Gaara-kun?"

"Hn."

"Why didn't you correct Jiraiya-sama when he called me your Lady?"

The brush in Gaara's hand stilled for a moment, but he didn't say anything.

"Gaara-kun?"

"Why didn't you?" Gaara whispered. "Correct the old man, I mean."

Kina blushed and looked at her hands. "I don't know…maybe because I wanted it to be the truth," she whispered the last part. If she expected an answer, it never came. Instead, Gaara patted her head once and gently pushed her away from him.

"I'm healed and Jiraiya will be waiting," he said. "Put on your chuunin clothes and let's go."

Kina rushed to do as he asked and wondered all the while.

_Did he even _hear_ what I said?_

000000000000000000

They were all back in Gaara's office. This time, Temari and Kankuro refused to leave and there was an additional ANBU team in the hallway. Kina felt somewhat ashamed at the necessity of it all. If her demon hadn't manifested itself, then the meeting would have been over hours ago, instead of having to _restart_ all over again.

"Since we've found out what Akatsuki wants and after today's events," Jiraiya said. "It would be best if you came to Konoha to talk to Tsunade, Kazekage-sama."

"I don't think that is absolutely necessary," Gaara answered. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of those bastards without losing control. Any and all planning that must be done can be completed through messengers such as yourselves."

Naruto frowned at being demoted to a mere "messenger" and immediately wished he hadn't. Ero-sennin's punishment for attacking Gaara had been to visit the Academy training grounds and provide a demonstration for the few kids and Sand shinobi practicing there. Only Jiraiya's definition of "demonstration" meant showing the kids exactly where and how hard to hit an opponent to stun him without knocking him unconscious.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Jiraiya's "opponent" would be.

"And what of your Lady, Kazekage-sama?" Jiraiya asked. "Is _she _capable of fighting Akatsuki without losing _her_ control?"

Gaara's hand tightened on his armrest. He badly wanted to take Kina's hand as she stood next to him, but refused to do so. "First of all," he started. "Kinabuhi will _never_ be in a situation where she would have to fight Akatsuki members without me being there with her. Second, she is not my Lady."

Jiraiya, Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro gaped at the Kazekage. Kina just clenched her fists and stared straight ahead.

_Guess that answers _that_ question, _she thought.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," he continued. "Listening to servants' jealous gossip should be above shinobis of your talents and rank. Kinabuhi and I were simply acting up to what you all thought."

Kina clenched her fists again and felt her nails dig crescent moons onto the palms of her hands. _Gaara being friendly was all an act? _I _sure as hell wasn't _acting

"But this morning, you two were laughing together in the—" Naruto was cut off by the look in Gaara's eyes and Jiraiya's hand over his mouth.

"Nevertheless," Jiraiya interrupted his student. "Tsunade must examine Kinabuhi-san to prevent any other outbursts."

Gaara knew that what the frog hermit said was true. If Kina's demon was able to manifest itself with Naruto's blood as the catalyst, then the great healer needed to see the girl. "We will leave for Konoha tonight," Gaara decided. "Temari, Kankuro, you will accompany us."

"Wait up, Gaara," Naruto said, holding up his hand. "You can't just show up at Konoha. You barely come to visit! If you all come all of a sudden, it will be suspicious!"

"The _baka_ is right," Kankuro said, looking at his brother and then Kina. She hadn't said a word since entering the office and he had seen the hurt in her eyes when Gaara announced that she wasn't his Lady.

"Kinabuhi-san would also be required to stay by your side at all times," Jiraiay smirked. He too had seen the pain in Kina's eyes at Gaara's declaration. _Stubborn bastard,_ he thought. _Can't he see how good the girl is for him?_ "You can excuse Temari and Kankuro becaue they are your siblings. But an unknown girl like Kinabuhi-san will immediately be noticed. Especially considering her features and obvious beauty."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Gaara snarled, ignoring the old man's comment for now. "I will not allow Kina-chan to lose control like she did today! She could have hurt someone! She could have hurt _herself_!"

"Eh, eh, ero-sennin, isn't the Summer Festival coming up?" Naruto asked his sensei.

"You're right," he answered.

"What's the Summer Festival?" Temari asked.

"It's the festival we have at the end of every summer," Naruto explained. "It's a huge deal. I haven't gone for a while because I've had missions the past few years during it. But every one dresses up and parties for almost a week straight!"

"Many of the feudal lords attend," Jiraiya added. "What could be more natural than a visit by our ally: the Kazekage?"

"This also lets you bring an entourage," Temari said. "No official visit is complete without an entourage."

Gaara looked from one to another. He hated festivals, but knew the value of secrecy as well. If anyone found out that not one, but _two_ demon vessels lived in Suna, the villagers would demand that they both be killed—Kazekage be damned.

"When is your festival?" he asked.

"It starts next week and lasts until the first of September," Naruto said.

"If we leave late tonight, then we'll be in Konoha in two days," Kankuro informed.

"It will take three," Gaara corrected. "Kinabuhi can't travel as fast as we can. We'll have to take the horses. Kankuro?"

The puppet master nodded and strode out the door. "Right away, Kazekage-sama."

"Temari, go home and pack whatever is necessary for you and Kankuro to make a 'formal' appearance at Konoha. Kina-chan, do the same for us. Even though you're not my Lady in truth, that is what you will pretend to be. Pack as many of your kimonos as possible. I want you to dress for riding, but remember to look feminine as well."

Kina nodded and turned to leave. Like she was going to dress like a girly girl when she had to ride a horse! He probably expected her to ride sidesaddle, too! She fully intended to ignore what Gaara said until he added:

"This is an A-class mission, Kinabuhi. Don't even _think_ of disobeying me on this."

He watched as the girl's back stiffened and inwardly smiled. Since he gave her the rank of chuunin, she had only gone on a few C-class missions. And even then, Temari or Kankuro were always with her. From what Tsunade had mentioned to him in her letters, Kina was probably as bad as Naruto when it came to demanding "quality" missions.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama," she ground through her teeth and stormed out of the room.

Naruto whistled and looked at Gaara with respect in his eyes. "That is one pissed off looking female, Gaara. You sure you know what you're doing?"

Gaara nodded as he looked at the blonde ninja. "Kinabuhi needs to realize how serious this is," he told them. "If someone finds out why Tsunade needs to see her, the only political protection I can give her is if everyone thinks she's the Kazekage's Lady."

"So claiming Kinabuhi-san as yours is purely a political maneuver," Jiraiya concluded. "Nothing but an illusion to fool the others?"

"Yes," Gaara answered before he stood up and left.

Jiraiya smirked and leaned against the wall. _Hmm…_he thought. _He actually sounds like he believes it._

"C'mon, boy, we have bags to pack and horses to check."

"Ano…" Naruto said nervously. "I don't know how to ride a horse."

Jiraiya's smirk widened into a grin and he laughed. "You'll learn soon enough."

**

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A/N:**

Sorry, I lied. They aren't going to go to Konoha yet…there are still a few things that have to happen before they get there. Be ready for some more seriousness, but don't worry! The funny will be back soon:)

Thanks to those of you that reviewed! I'll try not to let you guys down.

**(1) **_Alibata _is the phonetic alphabet of the Philippines. _Yawa_ means 'demon' in Cebuano.

**(2) **Remember that Kina is really from our time and was transported into the "Naruto" world.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is so not mine…if it was I wouldn't have to make my own cosplay costume…I'd hire a seamstress to do it for me.

**

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Chapter 8: On the Road

When Naruto and Jiraiya met up with the Sand nin again, everyone was dressed for riding with the exception of Temari and Kina. The two women looked more like they were going to a tea party than heading out on a long journey. Temari wore a light blue kimono-like top with a long black riding skirt. Kina wore the same thing, but her top was light purple. Both girls' hair was up in complicated braids and both wore light make-up that enhanced their eyes. (1)

Temari noticed the boy staring and frowned. "What are you looking at, _baka?_" she asked.

"You look like _girls,_" he stupidly said. The other three men sweatdropped and stepped away from the soon to be dead Naruto.

"We _are _girls, moron," Kina snarled. She took out her fans, released the blades, and snapped them open. Beside her, Temari took her fan from her behind her and slammed it into the ground.

_What is it with Sand kunoichi and fans?_ Naruto asked himself.

Jiraiya couldn't stand it anymore and stood in front of his student. "As much as Naruto deserves this," he said. "We need to get going. It's gonna take us three days at the very least. Let's not make it longer, hm?"

The two kunoichi nodded and put their weapons away. The horses were led out of the barn and they smirked at Naruto's reaction.

"I-I have t-to ride th-that-t?" he stammered.

"_That_ is a horse," Kina said, patting Nightshade's flank. "And no, you don't have to ride her. She's _my _horse."

Naruto didn't have time to relax before Kankuro came out with a large white stallion. His eyes rounded to the size of ramen bowls as the animal reared back and pawed the air. "That's not my horse is it?" he asked.

"No," Gaara said. "He's mine."

Soon, all six horses were led out and the five ninja mounted them. Gaara rode on the white stallion, whose name was Windrider. Jiraiya had a brown gelding named Blue. Kankuro rode Nightsmoke and Naruto had a passive bay mare Kina called Anna. Lastly, Temari rode a cream colored mare named Cloud.

Both women rode sidesaddle.

Kankuro grabbed the lead rope of the seventh horse, which pulled the small cart that carried their luggage.

"Let's go," Gaara said.

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Naruto was tired and sore. They had been riding for more than two days with only short stops and two hour breaks for sleep. To his surprise, Kina and Temari seemed fine with the pace Gaara and Kankuro had set. They seemed more at home in the saddle than Naruto could ever be…and they were riding sidesaddle. (2)

Kina was currently talking to Temari, as she had done for most of the journey. The blonde was explaining the terrain to the girl and pointed out the landmarks that showed the border between the Fire and Wind countries. Kina was treating Gaara the same way she had since the beginning of the trip.

Which meant that she was basically ignoring him.

Gaara rode in front of the two women. Jiraiya was in the lead while Naruto and Kankuro took the rear position behind the girls. He slowed his mount down and nodded at his sister. Temari took the hint and cantered into Gaara's previous spot in the line.

"This is getting tiresome, Kinabuhi," he said to the silent girl beside him.

"…"

"No one's going to believe that we are man and wife if you don't talk to me."

"…maybe we had a little fight and I'm not talking to you, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara sighed at the title. She hadn't called him that since September. "We could say that," he admitted. "But I'd rather not. Why are you mad at me Kina-chan? You were the one who didn't like that Jiraiya thought you were my Lady."

"Is that what you think?" Kina gasped, halting her horse. She barely noticed when Naruto and Kankuro passed by them. "I just wanted you to tell them that we weren't going out. Not that we were never _friends_!"

"I _am_ your friend, Kina-chan," Gaara sighed. "I've never been anything else to you. Things are serious right now. We don't have the luxury of fighting. Akatsuki—"

"I know perfectly well what Akatsuki is capable of," Kina interrupted. "They've already gotten to me once, if you remember."

"They're not going to get you twice, Kina-chan," Gaara said. "That's the real reason why we're going to see Tsunade."

"You didn't have to make me your wife take me to see her, y'know," she commented.

"Yes I did," Gaara replied simply. "It's for your protection, Kina-chan."

"I don't need protection."

He smiled and shook his head. "Yes, you do." To prevent any further protests, Gaara held out a small box to Kina, who took it after a few moments.

Kina opened the box and found a trio of beautiful silver and amethyst rings on top of a fine silver chain. She looked at Gaara with confusion in her eyes.

"They belonged to my parents…"

_Oh, shit,_ Kina thought. _Gaara expects me to wear this?_

"If you don't want to wear them on your finger, that's fine," he said emotionlessly. "But at least wear it on the necklace."

Kina looked at the rings carefully. One was bigger than the others, which probably meant that it was meant for a man. The other two were both silver, but one had a teardrop shaped amethyst on it while the other just had intricate designs carved into it. The two obviously belonged together. She picked up the man's ring and gave the box back to Gaara.

"It's the custom in my country to put the rings on the other person," she explained at his blank look.

Gaara nodded, his country held the same practice, and moved his horse closer to hers. He grabbed her left hand and placed the engagement ring and then the wedding ring onto her ring finger. Kina took his left hand and placed his father's silver wedding band onto his finger.

Somehow, the sight of their hands intertwined with the sunlight reflecting off of the rings gave Gaara a huge sense of accomplishment and peace.

"They fit," she said.

He looked up at Kina and saw that she was staring at their hands. He gently brushed a strand of hair off of her cheek and tilted her face up. "It's the custom in my country to seal the exchange of rings with a kiss," he softly said.

Kina held her breath as her best friend gently brushed his lips across hers. They were surprisingly soft for someone who lived in the desert for most of his life. Gaara was about to deepen the kiss when they heard loud clapping and cheering from their companions.

"It's about time!" Naruto yelled at them. Temari laughed and winked at the couple, while Jiraiya just smiled like a proud papa.

"Seriously, Gaara, you've got to be the most clueless guy on the planet!" Kankuro shouted. "You two should've been going out _months _ago!"

Gaara smirked and called out to the others. "Get back into formation, you guys. Temari, take my place." He held on to Kina's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll keep Kina-chan company."

Naruto snorted as they passed and Kankuro's grin just widened. Kina saw the older boy give her a small thumbs up and she smiled.

Things were going to be alright.

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Things were not going alright with Akatsuki member Uchiha Itachi.

First of all, he had learned that the fox demon he wanted to hunt was missing—along with a certain legendary Sannin pervert.

Then hunter nins from the Hidden Village of Mist stumbled on him and Kisame. They wasted a whole month dodging those losers. Why Kisame refused to kill them, Itachi didn't know, so he killed them himself.

Only to face the wrath of the shark-like missing nin.

Apparently, one of the hunter nins was Kisame's little sister. Now the man was pissed off at Itachi.

Not that he cared either way, but it was easier to deal with a content Kisame than an angry one. But the episode caused the other Akatsuki member to run off to bury his sister and "grieve."

Now, he had to take care of yet another nuisance.

"You might as well give up," he said in a bored voice.

His opponent shouted something along the lines of never giving up and being stronger, but the missing nin wasn't really listening. If he'd heard it once, he'd heard it a thousand times.

Itachi stared at the figure and inwardly sighed. _Some people never learn,_ he thought disgustedly. He disappeared from his opponent's view and reappeared in behind him. He stabbed his kunai into the other's side and sighed out loud.

"Game over," he whispered and withdrew his kunai. Itachi turned and continued to walk along the path, ignoring the sound of a body landing heavily on the forest floor.

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"We're gonna take a break here," Jiraiya said. The group stopped by the side of the river that would eventually lead them to Konoha. Naruto dismounted, complaining all the way, and hobbled for the forest. Kina shared a smile at the sight with Temari and allowed Gaara to help her dismount.

"You look like you have a headache," the sand user noted.

Kina nodded and rubbed her temples. "It's the braids," she replied. "They tug at my scalp and I haven't had a chance to brush them out since we started three days ago."

Gaara nodded in sympathy and took her hand. He led her away from the others and to a small clearing a few yards away. After sitting on a convenient rock, he urged Kina to sit in front of him. When she did, he gently undid her braids and ran his hands through her hair, massaging her scalp.

"Your hair's gotten longer," he murmured.

Kina let her head fall back and enjoyed the massage. "Uh-huh," she agreed. "We never had a chance to cut it, remember? We left Suna and totally forgot about it."

"Hn."

Kina felt Gaara re-braid her hair into a single braid and heard him take out his kunai. Before she could say anything, he cut her braid and tossed the part he cut into her lap. About a foot and a half of braided hair lay in her lap, held together with two bits of twine.

"There," Gaara said, putting his kunai away. "Your hair is now only knee-length."

Kina grinned and picked up her old hair. She turned to the redhead and tucked it into the sash that held his gourd to his back. "Here you go, Gaara-kun. Just like I promised."

He smiled and pulled her towards him. "Now I will have your scent with me no matter where I am," he said, content. He looked into her dark purple eyes and kissed her.

_She tastes like chocolate,_ he thought.

Their kiss was cut short again by a strange sound. Kina turned around and saw a man dragging himself towards them. Gaara stiffened and quickly pushed Kina behind him. The injured man didn't even look up. The Sand nin figured that he was headed for the sound of the river when the man looked up and noticed the couple staring at him.

Kina gasped as she recognized the man's features. She had seen him before of course, but not like this.

"_YOU!"_ he coughed, blood spilling from his mouth.

Kina brushed past Gaara and ran to the bleeding youth. She turned him over and quickly began assessing his wound. "Gaara-kun, go get Temari and the others," she said. "Ask her to get my sewing kit, this is gonna need stitching."

When Gaara finally went to do as she asked, Kina turned to the semi-conscious figure. "You can't die," she whispered as she fought to stop the bleeding. "They've gone through too much for you to just die!"

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember everything she knew about healing jutsus. Green chakra started to glow on her hands as she held them over the wound.

_Focus your chakra as if you're passing it through a needle._ (3)

She heard the others come into the clearing behind her and felt Jiraiya and Gaara's shock at seeing her use her chakra to heal. But that was nothing compared to Naruto's shock at seeing _who_ she was healing.

"_SASUKE!"_

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A/N:**

C'mon…who _didn't_ see that coming? Well another chapter done…tell me what you guys think.

**(1) **Think of Inuyasha's clothes only instead of loose pants, it's a loose skirt.

**(2) **Riding sidesaddle is really hard…and after a while, your leg can get numb too.

**(3) **This is what Shizune says when she and the other medic nins are healing Neji after he fights that spider dude.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine

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Chapter 9: Arriving at Gate 1—Konoha Village  
(aka **The White Zone is for Immediate Loading and Unloading Only)**

Naruto looked up when Gaara came out of the forest. He didn't look any different than he had fifteen minutes ago, but something about the Sand nin gave off a sense of urgency that he rarely showed. "Gaara?" he asked. "What's up?"

Gaara ignored him and spoke to his sister instead. "Temari, get Kina's sewing kit and as many bandages as you can get together. Kankuro, Jiraiya, Naruto, follow me. I don't know how hurt he is, but I don't think Kina-chan can hold him down if he decides to fight."

Before he could ask who was hurt, Temari rushed by him and followed her brother into the woods. Naruto looked over at Kankuro, who shrugged, and headed towards the clearing. What he saw shocked the shit out of him.

"_SASUKE!"_ he yelled. Naruto ran and fell to his knees next to his long missing friend. "What the hell happened to you, _baka_! Don't you know how worried everyone was?"

"Naruto…" Kina panted beside him. "Shut…up!" She finished the jutsu and turned to Temari. "Needle," she ordered. The older girl gave her the threaded needle and silently sat across from her. Together, they sewed up the Uchiha and bandaged him.

"How did he get here?" Kankuro asked from the sidelines. Jiraiya stood next to him and Gaara sat on the rock he had vacated earlier.

"He dragged himself from over there," Gaara nodded towards the direction Sasuke came from and frowned. "He must've heard the water in the river."

"But what happened?" Naruto demanded.

Gaara shrugged in his best "How the hell should _I_ know?" manner and moved his gaze to Kina's back. He could still hear her whisper to Sasuke that he couldn't die. She didn't even know the boy. Gaara hadn't mentioned him, but he couldn't be too sure about his siblings. It amazed him that the girl who could barely complete basic ninjutsus suddenly knew how to use complex healing jutsus.

_Just how many secrets do you have, Kinabuhi?_ Gaara asked himself.

"Itachi did this," Kina whispered.

Everyone's head whipped around to stare at the girl. Even Sasuke's eyes widened at her statement.

"Can't you smell it?" she asked as she looked first at Gaara and then at Naruto. "Use your noses guys, Itachi's scent is all over the wound."

Both Gaara and Naruto closed their eyes and inhaled. "She's right," Naruto declared. "Itachi did this."

"How did you let him get so close, Uchiha?" Gaara asked contemptuously. "From the stink on you, he was practically pressed up against your back."

Sasuke closed his eyes and turned his head in that "I'm too good to answer that question" way that Naruto knew so well. The kyuubi vessel's eyes filled as he stared at his friend.

"Well, now we can take you back home, Sasuke," he decided.

"Like hell you will," the dark haired boy yelled. He tried to get up, but was stopped by the combined forces of Kina, Gaara, and Naruto holding him down.

Naruto laughed his first real laugh in over a year. (1) "There's no way you can fight back now, Sasuke!"

The self-proclaimed Avenger scowled. "I could go to Stage 2," he threatened.

Kina surprised the boys by laughing. "Honey, you could go to Stage 2, but it won't help," she said. "Not with the three of us here to hold you down."

The others were curious to know how Kina knew about the seal and Stage 2, but kept silent. This wasn't the place to ask such questions since the answers would probably include a discussion about the three teens' demon sides.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder while Kankuro grabbed his other one. Together, they stood up and dangled the Uchiha between them. "We can tie him to my horse," Kina said. "The saddle horn's a perfect place to tie his legs."

"What if he acts up?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'll ride beside him," Naruto answered, his 'serious' expression back on his face. They all made their way back to their horses.

"Kina will ride with me," Gaara said. "And my sand will tie him to the saddle. If he moves, the sand will tighten." He helped Kina astride the horse and fluidly mounted behind her. She turned as Naruto and Kankuro threw Sasuke roughly onto her horse and protested.

"Be careful! Nightshade's delicate!"

Gaara smirked and laid his hand on her waist. He saw Sasuke's eyes widen as his sand tied the boy to the saddle of the horse on their left. "Don't worry, Kina-chan," Gaara said, kissing the side of her neck. Sasuke's eyes widened again at both the action and the term of endearment. "The _tonto_ won't hurt Nightshade." (2) He held Kina's left hand in his and brought it to his lips.

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of the scene before him. Gaara was acting nice. Gaara was kissing a girl. Sasuke remembered that her name was Kina and that she had saved him. Light flashed off of the rings that Kina was wearing and Sasuke realized that Gaara wore a matching ring on his left hand.

Gaara was _married?_

"When did _you _get married?" he asked, disgruntled. (A/N: isn't 'disgruntled' a great word?)

The couple looked over at Sasuke. Kina looked up at Gaara and asked him a question with her eyes. Gaara answered her question with a reassuring hug. "Just recently actually," he answered.

"We're headed to Konoha for the Summer Festival and to introduce Kina-chan to Tsunade-baachan," Naruto added from his spot on Sasuke's other side. "Ero-sennin and I were sent as escorts."

"Hn."

Kina found it odd to hear Gaara's favorite phrase from someone else. She twisted in the saddle to look up at her boyfriend/husband and smiled. He caught her thought and gave her a small smile in return.

"Maybe he'll lighten up when he finally gets some," Gaara whispered mischievously in her ear.

"You haven't gotten _any_ yet, Gaara-kun," Kina whispered back. "And you've lightened up quite a bit."

Gaara sniffed Kina's hair and smiled again. "Must be the company," he said.

She smiled back and snuggled into the redhead's lap. "Must be," she agreed.

00000000000000000

Sasuke was never so happy to see the gates of Konoha as he was at this moment. Even though he had left with the intention of never returning, he gladly welcomed the sight. Reaching Konoha meant only one thing to the Uchiha.

The journey was _finally_ over!

Between Naruto's constant chatter about the missions he went on while Sasuke was gone, the strangely creepy PDAs from the couple riding beside him, and the unaccustomed pain of riding a horse, Sasuke was willing to face three hours in Morino Ibiki's interrogation room if it meant that he could get away from the trio riding beside him.

"Gaara-kun," Kina began. "Don't you think we should hide Sasuke with a genjutsu until the Hokage sees him?"

Gaara turned to the Uchiha and nodded. "Things will be hectic enough when they see us," he agreed. "Kankuro."

Kankuro had heard their conversation and immediately nodded. He performed a series of seals and whispered a quick jutsu. Kina had a brief vision of Sasuke with long black hair and wearing the same clothes as her and Temari before her powers kicked in and the genjutsu faded. (3)

"He's now disguised as your handmaiden," Kankuro said, laughter in his voice. "So, Kina-chan, what will you name her?"

She laughed at the idea of renaming a female Sasuke. "I don't know. Naruto," she called out. "Why don't you do the honors? After all, _she_ was your friend first."

Naruto laughed also as Sasuke's eyes, now a beautiful light blue, narrowed at him. Somehow, Kankuro's genjutsu had worked on Gaara's sand binding as well and it just looked like the folds of Sasuke's skirt. "Let me think…" he said. "How about…Temeki?"

"Teme...ki?" Kina repeated, horror and laughter in her voice. (4)

Everyone remained silent. It was only when Sasuke hiccupped and turned bright red that the silence was broken. Everyone started laughing and gasping for air. This was how the guards at the gate saw the group as they entered Konoha.

Genma and Aoba had been waiting at the main gate for the past hour.

"When will the Kazekage's entourage get here?" Genma asked. The senbon in his mouth bounced up and down with his words.

"Soon. Godaime-sama said that the message Naruto sent told her that they would arrive this afternoon," Aoba answered for the fifth time. He adjusted his sunglasses and looked down the road at the sound of laughter. "That must be another group of entertainers."

Genma laughed and poked Aoba in the ribs. "It definitely isn't the Kazekage," he joked. He looked at the travelers and promptly dropped his jaw. The senbon he was chewing on fell to the ground as he witnessed the impossible.

The laughing group _was_ the Kazekage's entourage. There was no mistake about it. Even if he doubted the identities of four of the riders, there was no mistaking the bright orange clothing and annoying voice of Uzumaki Naruto. One of the riders took up the lead and both Konoha jounin recognized the red hair of Sabaku no Gaara.

Two things surprised them. The first being that instead of his normal brown clothes, the Sand nin wore the blue and white robes of the Kazekage. The second surprise was the beautiful girl in Gaara's lap. Her long black hair was braided and placed in an intricately designed bun on her head. Even from the distance separating them, Genma could see the girl's unusual purple eyes. She was a beauty to be sure.

They stood at attention as the party got closer to the gates. Aoba could see that Temari and Kankuro also accompanied the Kazekage. The former was dressed as formally as the girl in Gaara's lap, while Kankuro wore black riding clothes and his customary purple make up. Aoba noted that Kankuro led another horse that pulled a small cart.

_Why do women have to pack so much?_ The jounin asked himself.

"Konoha welcomes the Kazekage and his entourage," Genma said as Gaara and the others halted their horses at the gate. "If you'll follow us, we will escort you to your apartments for the Festival."

"We need to speak to Tsunade," Gaara said, not moving his mount. "Now."

Genma wasn't surprised by the Kazekage's brusque tone of voice. But he was surprised when the girl laid her hand on Gaara's wrist and looked up at him.

"It is a matter of some importance," Gaara elaborated. "I apologize for being so abrupt."

Aoba and Genma gaped. The Kazekage had _apologized_ to them? Temari and Kankuro snickered from their spots behind the couple while Naruto just laughed louder and Jiraiya coughed into his hand. The seventh member of the group, an oddly familiar and pretty girl, remained silent, but looked like she wanted to laugh as well if the redness in her face was any indication.

"I thought that your group only equaled to four people," Aoba said. "If there are five people in your entourage, we can use the time you use to speak to Godaime-sama and prepare another room."

"That won't be necessary," the girl with purple eyes said. Genma was immediately entranced by her husky voice. "My handmaiden, Temeki,"—everyone on horseback snickered at the name—"will take the extra room."

"And where will you sleep?" Aoba asked.

The girl smiled and reached back to lay her hand on Gaara's cheek. "With my husband, of course."

It was only years and years of training and discipline that kept the two leaf jounin from falling over in shock.

Kina had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the shock and horror on the faces of the jounin. She recognized their faces, but couldn't give them names. Gaara's hands on her waist tightened and she knew that he was having as much trouble keeping his laughter in as she was.

She turned in the saddle and whispered into her "husband's" ear, "I wonder what they would think if they knew that my husband likes to sleep on panda printed bedsheets?"

That did it.

Gaara couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and finally let loose. The look of fear and disbelief on the Konoha shibobi's faces quickly made up for the temporary loss in dignity.

"Again, I apologize," Gaara said, once his laughter subsided. "My wife has a wicked sense of humor."

"We really need to see Tsunade-baachan, though," Naruto interrupted. Genma looked at the boy and realized that he had grown since the last time he saw him. Both in looks and personality. He also noticed that Naruto subtly crowded and controlled the horse Temeki rode on.

_Could he finally be over Sakura?_ Genma wondered.

"Of course," Aoba said. He waved the group through and started to walk beside Gaara's horse, while Genma took the rope from Kankuro and led the horse and cart from the back of the line. Slowly, the group made its' way through the village and to the Hokage's building.

Kina couldn't help but notice the stares they were getting from the townspeople. Instead of the fear and contempt she expected, she heard excited murmurs and squeals from the children who saw the Sand nin.

"It's Temari-neechan!" one little girl told her mother.

"And Kankuro and Gaara-san!" another boy said.

"That's Kazekage-sama, _gaki,_" the boy's mother corrected.

"But who's the girl riding with him?"

"I dunno."

"Maybe they're here for the Festival?"

"Probably."

The whispers continued until they reached the Hokage's building. Kankuro, Temari, Jiraiya, and Naruto immediately dismounted. Gaara got off the horse and raised his arms up to Kina. She smiled and slid off the horse and into his arms. She looked over at Temeki (Sasuke) and laughed.

The girl (boy) couldn't get off the horse because of Gaara's sand still binding her. Naruto saw this and walked over to her. Temeki's eyes narrowed at the sight of Naruto standing by the horse, arms outstretched.

"It's alright, Temeki-chan," Naruto laughed. "I'll catch you."

Sasuke wanted to wipe the smirk off of Naruto's face and decided to "fall" off of the horse. A few bruises were worth it if it meant knocking the _dobe_ to the ground. He leaned to the side and pretended to fall, but before he knew it, strong arms enfolded him in their embrace.

"Told ya I'd catch you," Naruto joked and placed Temeki/Sasuke on her/his feet. (A/N: I'm tired of doing the whole Temeki/Sasuke thing…from now on I'm calling him Temeki until the story demands otherwise.)

Temeki blushed at the laughs from the others present and scowled. She was blushing way more now that she was female. _Is this Kankuro's doing?_ She shot the puppet master a dark look and followed the others up the stairs.

"Shizune-neechan," Naruto began. "Is baa-chan busy? We need to talk to her."

Shizune looked up from her desk and saw Naruto, Jiraiya, and the Kazekage's entourage. She blinked and replied, "Tsunade-sama is in a meeting with Sakura-chan, Naruto."

"Is it because of that?" Naruto asked, excitedly.

A voice from behind them answered. "Yes, it's because of _that._"

Everyone, except Shizune, turned around to see Kakashi leaning against the wall. "That's great! So she did it while I was away, Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously," the copy ninja said. He pushed away from the wall and smiled. "Tsunade-sama is giving the results to Sakura now."

Temeki desperately wanted to ask what Sakura did while Naruto was away, but couldn't. She wasn't sure if the genjutsu would mask her voice as well and she wasn't going to find out in front of her former sensei. Luckily for her, Kina asked the question instead.

"What results?" she asked Naruto. "Sakura is Ino-chan's friend, right?"

Naruto scratched his head and laughed nervously. "Ino told you that Sakura-chan is Tsunade-baachan's apprentice, right?" When she nodded, Naruto continued, but stared at Temeki the entire time. "Well she's been doing real good. She mastered level 7 healing two weeks after she started training with baa-chan. That was almost a year ago. Before I left, I heard baa-chan say something about testing Sakura-chan for her medic license."

"So she's to be a medic chuunin?" Temari asked, proud of the girl.

Naruto's reply was cut short by Tsunade's office door bursting open and a certain pink haired kunoichi running through it.

"Alright!" she shouted, holding a green vest to her chest. "I got it! I got it! Go Sakura, it's your birthday!"

Naruto smiled at his friend and grabbed her hands. Sakura opened her eyes, surprised to see him there, but smiled back and continued dancing. She bumped hips with Naruto and then Kakashi as she kept on celebrating.

"Congratulations, Sakura-san," Gaara said, formally bowing to the newly promoted chuunin. Temari, Kankuro, and Kina followed suit and so did Temeki after a glare from Kina.

"Thank you, Gaara-san, Temari-san, Kankuro-san," Sakura replied. She looked over at the other two girls and smiled.

At first, Kakashi and Shizune looked confused as well until Kina jabbed Gaara in the ribs. Then they were surprised at the girl's audacity.

"This is Kinabuhi," Gaara finally said, holding out Kina's hand. "And her handmaiden, Temeki." Kankuro snickered at the name. He decided then and there that he would never get tired of hearing the proud Uchiha called that.

Sakura's expression lightened. "So you're the Kinabuhi-san Ino has been talking about. Welcome to Konoha."

"Kinabuhi?" Kakashi asked. His droopy eye took in the two girls standing next to Gaara. There was something off about the both of them. Too bad he couldn't use his Sharingan to check his suspicions out.

Kina smiled and held out her hand—her left hand. "Yes," she said. "I'm Gaara-kun's wife."

Shizune, Sakura, and Kakashi were stunned. "Wife?" they asked.

Kina frowned and turned to Gaara. "Am I going to get that reaction _every_ time I get introduced as your wife?" she demanded.

The answer was unanimous and came from everyone's lips.

"Yes."

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A/N: **

Another chapter done…yay! So what do you think? Good, bad?

Oh, can someone tell me the names of the other jounin in Konoha? Y'know, the one with the scar, the one with that piece of cloth across his nose, and the one who's always _with_ the one with that piece of cloth across his nose?

I can't remember for the life of me! Argh! Ok, I'll figure it out eventually.

**(1) **Remember how I had Gaara find Kina _after_ they came back from the failed mission to find Sasuke? Well, Kina's been with them for almost a year, so that makes it a little more than a year since Naruto fought Sasuke.

**(2) **_Tonto_ is Cebuano for 'fool' or 'idiot.'

**(3) **Kina can see through genjutsu in only a few seconds…she can't control it at this point of the story.

**(4)** In case you didn't know…_Teme_ means 'asshole' in Japanese. And _ki_ means 'spirit' or 'energy.' So the name Naruto gave Sasuke can mean 'asshole energy.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Naruto is mine the way that Adam Pascal is mine. Which translates to: not mine at all.

**A/N: **Thanks to Kira who told me the names of the jounin I couldn't remember! . They won't show up anytime soon, but they will eventually!

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**Chapter 10: Meetings and Decisions**

Sakura's impromptu celebration and Kina's announcement were interrupted by the appearance of Tsunade herself.

"What's going on?" she asked, irritated by the noise.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "We have some important news to give you from Suna."

Tsunade looked over to her old teammate and nodded. She had expected as much. She looked over the group from Suna and immediately noticed Kina and Temeki's unique chakras. Her eyes widened at the sight of Temeki, but otherwise she remained passive.

"Sakura," she said. "Please remain here until I call for you. Same goes for you Kakashi."

If either shinobi was curious at the order, neither one showed it. They just bowed and sat down on one of the couches. Kakashi immediately took out his book "Icha Icha Paradise" and Sakura put on her new vest, running her hands down the green fabric.

The others just followed the Hokage into her office.

"Well," she said as the door shut behind her. "Do you want to tell me what Uchiha Sasuke is doing back in Konoha under a genjutsu?"

Jiraiya smiled and folded his arms across his chest. "We came across him on the way here," he explained. "He was wounded and so we managed to subdue him and bring him with us."

Tsunade nodded at this and folded her hands under her chin. "And how did you manage to keep him subdued?"

"No one is a match for three demon vessels," Gaara replied.

Temeki's eyes widened and Tsunade nooded again at the Sand nin's comment. "Yes, it would be troublesome to fight the three of you," she agreed. "Naruto, take Temeki outside and wait with her and the others. Gaara can fill you in on the details afterwards."

"But baa-chan—"

"I need you to watch the Uchiha, Naruto," Tsunade said. "Gaara and the others need to tell me what's going on, but Sasuke doesn't need to know. He can't be left unguarded by one of you three. You're the only ones strong enough to make sure he behaves." She stared at the Uchiha and frowned. "He's already heard too much. We don't know where his loyalties lie."

Naruto knew that what she said was the truth, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He looked over at his old friend and sighed. "Yes, Tsunade-sama," he said. "What do you want me to tell Kakashi and Sakura?"

"Tell them to keep waiting. They're to escort the Kazekage and his entourage to their apartments after our meeting," she answered. "Tell Aoba and Genma to go back to the gates and greet the other feudal lords who are arriving."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Naruto bowed and took Temeki's elbow. He gently forced her from the room and gave her orders to the two jounin still by the door. He then sat down across from Sakura and his old sensei.

_Team 7 reunited at last,_ he thought sadly. He looked over at Temeki and frowned. _Although I didn't think it would be exactly like this._

Temeki was thinking along the same lines when Sakura spoke up.

"What's going on Naruto? Is that girl _really_ Gaara's wife? What are they doing here?"

"They're here for the Summer Festival, Sakura-chan," Narurto answered. "Gaara brought Kina-chan to introduce her to Tsunade-baachan."

The pink haired kunoichi scoffed and pointed at the blonde. "That's bullshit and you know it! Tell me the truth, Naruto."

Naruto looked down and then at Temeki. "I can't tell you, Sakura-chan," he murmured. "It's more than what I'm saying, but there's other people involved. Tsunade-baachan will probably tell you in time, so be patient, okay?"

Sakura only heard this tone of voice from Naruto when he talked about Sasuke. She nodded and forced a smile to her lips. "Okay Naruto," she whispered. "I'll be patient for now."

Temeki was impressed by how her ex-teammates have grown. Naruto and Sakura were both more serious now. She couldn't tell if it was because of her betrayal or if they would have naturally become more serious as they grew older. She felt Kakashi's stare on her and met his eye.

"Who is this, Naruto?" the masked ninja asked.

"Oh, this is Temeki," Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head. He felt Temeki tense beside him and let his arm fall heavily against the girl's shoulders. He squeezed hard and silently ordered the genjutsu affected Uchiha to behave. "She's Kina-chan's handmaiden."

Sakura took note of Naruto's arm on the girl's shoulders and felt a small burst of jealousy within her. _Just how close are those two?_ she asked herself. _Wait, am I jealous of _Naruto

Kakashi noticed the move also and just smiled behind his mask. He had already figured out what was wrong with the girl. (Sort of.) _I wonder when Naruto will notice that Temeki is a boy,_ he wondered. Remembering Haku, his smile widened. _What is it about Naruto that attracts crossdressers?_

The quartet was silent for a while before Sakura yelled at Naruto.

"Will you stop jiggling your foot? It's annoying."

"Just because you're a chuunin now doesn't mean you can boss me around."

"Actually," Kakashi started in as well.

Temeki watched as the three started to argue. Well, Sakura and Naruto were arguing while Kakashi would interrupt here and there with a few comments. _Guess they aren't as grown up as I thought._

"It's funny…" Naruto suddenly said. The others turned to the blonde. Kakashi and Sakura waited for him to explain while Temeki simply raised her eyebrow in question.

_I've seen someone do that before…_Sakura thought.

"Well, I was just thinking," Naruto started. Sakura snorted at the comment and promptly shut up when Naruto scowled at her.

_I wonder if I can learn how to do that,_ Temeki thought.

"Here I am," the blonde placed his hand on his chest, "and I'm Jiraiya-sama's apprentice. I'm learning what he knows and can summon the animal he can summon."

Kakashi and Sakura nodded. Temeki just looked at Naruto with respect. _He's Jiraiya's _apprentice? she thought.

"There you are Sakura-chan," he then pointed to the girl. "You just got promoted to medic chuunin and _you're_ Tsunade-baachan's apprentice. Can you summon slugs yet?" Sakura nodded and Naruto smiled.

"And Sasuke's…"

Naruto turned to Temeki and looked into her eyes. To the others, it seemed as if he stopped because of the presence of the foreign girl. But in reality, Naruto was speaking directly to the Uchiha.

"Sasuke's with the other," he finished lamely.

"Each of us is being trained by a Sannin," Sakura concluded. She looked over at her sensei and felt his uneasiness. "Maybe it's a sign."

"That you three will become the next legendary Sannin?" Kakashi asked lazily.

"That history will repeat itself," she corrected.

Naruto laughed and took his hand off Temeki's shoulder. "I'd rather Kakashi's prediction came true than yours Sakura-chan. No offense."

Sakura smiled and met the boy's gaze. "Me too."

00000000000000000

As soon as Naruto left the room, Kina collapsed onto the floor.

"Kina-chan!" Gaara gasped. "What's wrong?"

"She's suffering from chakra depletion," Tsunade said. She walked over to the girl and laid a glowing green hand on her head. "I can give her enough to last through this meeting, but she needs to sleep off the worst of it."

"How'd she lose her chakra?" Kankuro asked. "She barely has any to begin with."

"It must've been when she healed Sasuke," Jiraiya thought out loud.

Tsunade pulled the girl's top off of her shoulders, revealing her tattoos. She traced the 'demon' one and then the 'life' one. (1) "Whoever bound her was messy," she said. "They bound Kinabuhi's natural chakra as well as the chakra of the demon within her. But as I said, they were messy. The binding was immediately counter-acted by the 'life' tattoo."

"Itachi…" Gaara growled.

Tsunade looked up and asked, "Is he the one who did this?"

Kina nodded. "Along with other members of Akatsuki," she said. "I don't remember what happened before I woke up in his tent. But I think that I hurt one of them."

"I can change what Itachi has done and give you back your chakra," she announced. "You will also be able to access your demon's chakra. I have to warn you, though, the relationship between you and your demon will be more like Gaara's and Shukaku's rather than Naruto's and the Kyuubi's. She might be very vocal about her captivity."

Kina nodded again and smiled. "It's okay. Shukaku lets Gaara sleep when I'm with him. I don't see why my demon should be any different."

"I want you to rest," Tsunade said. "With the festival going on, I can't perform the binding until after everyone leaves."

Gaara was about to protest, but was stopped by Kina's hand on his arm. "I understand," she said. "Now what are we going to do about Sasuke?"

"Until we're sure where his loyalties lie, he has to be monitored at all times. Like I said before," Tsunade said, sitting behind her desk once more. "I can't trust that he'll behave unless he's guarded by a demon vessel."

"There's also the problem of his genjutsu," Kankuro said. They all noticed the sheen of sweat on his forehead. "It requires my chakra to keep it going and I don't have an unlimited amount, y'know."

The Hokage nodded and started to sift through the papers on her desk. "There was something here about a jutsu that activates and deactivates a _henge_ without using too much chakra. Here it is!" She read through the requirements and frowned. "We're going to need a locket and a lock of hair from each person who can activate the jutsu as well as the person the jutsu will be cast on."

"We'll need to limit the number of people who can activate and deactivate it," Gaara said.

Tsunade nodded and looked at the couple. "Since you three will be Sasuke's guardians, so to speak, Gaara, Naruto, and Kina will provide the hair. Tell Naruto to take Temeki out and buy her a small locket and an ankle bracelet after you've settled in the Kazekage apartments I've set aside for you."

"Ankle bracelet?" Temari asked.

"Sasuke can remove a necklace easily and a locket on a bracelet is too noticeable," Tsunade explained. "Kankuro, teach Naruto the jutsu you used on Sasuke so that it'll be _his_ chakra that Sasuke uses while they go shopping. I want all four of you back here at 6 o'clock tonight—before the welcome dinner. We'll perform the jutsu then, but only if Kinabuhi is well rested!"

"She will be," Gaara vowed. They all bowed to the Hokage. Gaara swept Kina up bridal style and walked out the door. The others followed, snickering at Gaara's back.

Naruto and the others in the waiting room stood up to see Gaara carrying Kina.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, medic instincts reaching out.

Gaara deftly blocked the healer and smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid the journey has been too much for Kina-chan," he said. "If you could show us to our apartments, she can rest before tonight's dinner."

Sakura smiled at this nicer and friendlier Gaara. There was something about the way he treated his wife that made Sakura wish for someone to treat her like that—like she was precious.

"Of course," she said. "If you'll follow me."

The group exited the Hokage's building and mounted their horses once more. Naruto and Temeki shared a horse while Sakura rode Naruto's old one and Kakashi led the horse and cart. She led the way to a small, but stylish building.

"Tsunade-sama wanted you to have the most traditional of our guest houses," Sakura explained as everyone dismounted. Servants rushed forward to take care of the horses and luggage as Gaara walked into the house with Kina in his arms. He toed off his shoes and used his sand to put Kina's next to his on the floor.

"I don't mean to be rude…" Gaara started.

"Yes you do."

"Quiet, Kina-chan. But where is my room? Kinabuhi needs to rest. She's in a delicate condition."

The servants in the hallway froze and started to whisper to each other. Kina turned red and Temari coughed into her hand.

"What?"

"_Baka!_" Kina hissed into his ear. "When you say that a woman is in a 'delicate condition' it's a euphemism for saying that she's pregnant!"

"Oh…" (2)

Temeki smirked as the mighty Gaara, Kazekage of the Hidden Village of Sand, turned as red as his hair.

"That's not what I meant," Gaara corrected. But the damage had already been done. Now most of the household servants believed Kina to be pregnant and in 10 minutes so would the rest of the village.

Kina laughed and buried her head into the hollow between Gaara's neck and shoulder. "Nevermind," she sighed. "Just get me to our room. I need to sleep."

Gaara didn't bother listening to Sakura's directions. Instead he walked through the house, opening and closing doors until he got to the biggest room. He gently laid Kina down on the bed and removed his gourd from his back. He lay down next to her and sighed.

"I'm gonna pay big time for that, aren't I?" he asked, resigned to his fate.

His "wife" nodded sleepily and smiled. "Oh, yeah…"

"What do you want?" Gaara sighed.

"Tell me a secret…a big one."

**

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A/N:**

Hehehehe…more gossip and fun to come, kiddies! What secret did Gaara tell her? You'll find out!

**(1) **Kina has the 'demon' tattoo on her right shoulder and the 'life' tattoo on her left.

**(2)** So Gaara didn't know this…most guys don't anymore anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto…ooh…if you wanna see something funny about Naruto, go to google, type in "Real Ninjas" and click the youTube link! Guaranteed funny!

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Chapter 11: Gossip

"Oh, my gosh, Hinata, did you hear what those girls just said?" Tenten asked.

Hinata poked her head out from behind the dressing room curtain. Though the quiet girl didn't look they type, she was an avid gossip whore. "What?" she asked eagerly.

Tenten held up a dark gold kimono and frowned. _Gold wasn't the Hyuuga's color,_ she decided. "The Kazekage's here from Suna for the Festival!" she announced.

The curtains of the dressing room opened to reveal the heiress in a pale pink kimono with silvery flowers on it. "I knew that already," she said. "Father told me this afternoon and told me to get a new kimono."

"_That's_ why we're here?" Tenten asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hinata shrugged and looked at herself in the mirror. For some reason, being around the weapons mistress relaxed the dark purple haired girl enough that she forgot to stammer or blush. "I honestly forgot. It's been _ages_ since Father gave me permission to buy a new kimono," she finally answered.

Tenten gave the gold kimono to Hinata as she entered the dressing room again. "Then you'd better make it an expensive one," Tenten said. She didn't know why Hinata didn't act like this in front of other people. Personally, she thought it was much more interesting than the shy Hinata everyone else knew.

"There you are!" Ino ran into the back of Konoha's most expensive clothing boutique and grabbed Tenten by the hand. "Have I got the juiciest gossip for you! The Kazekage's here for the Festival."

"We know," Tenten answered. Hinata echoed the statement from behind the curtain.

"Hinata? Is that you?" Ino asked. "That's good. Now all I have to do is tell Forehead Girl after you guys."

"What's to tell?" Hinata asked as she left the dressing room again. Tenten and Ino's jaws dropped at the sight of shy Hinata in the dark gold kimono. The color set off her pale skin and dark hair to perfection. Tenten changed her opinion about gold not being the Hyuuga's color.

Hinata smiled at the looks on her friends' faces. The kimono gave her a boost of confidence like she'd never felt before. _Maybe this year, if Naruto-kun is here, I'll tell him how I feel,_ Hinata thought.

"Gaara's the Kazekage!" Ino said.

The other girls looked at her like she was dim-witted. "Yeah, we know that," Tenten said.

"That's not all," the blonde insisted. "He married Kina-chan and they're expecting a baby!"

"Kina-chan?" Hinata repeated. "The girl you said was his girlfriend?"

"Yeah!" Ino sat down next to Tenten and sighed. "It was kinda cute the way he hovered over her during the Valentine's Day dinner. And now they're expecting a baby!"

"Who's expecting a baby?" a familiar voice asked.

"Sakura!" the girls cried.

The pink haired kunoichi stepped into the room and smiled. She tugged on her new vest and looked at her friends. "Well?" she asked. "Like my new outfit?"

The others noticed and squealed. "You did it!" Ino squealed and hugged her friend.

"Wow, first Shikamaru and now you," Tenten said. "I'm starting to get jealous."

"You know that they promoted me to chuunin only because they need medic nins out there as soon as possible," Sakura said.

"But you worked hard to get to the level you're at now, Sakura," Hinata smiled.

"Thanks, Hinata," Sakura said. "Wow, that kimono looks great on you!"

Hinata smiled again and blushed a bit, but managed to say thanks anyway.

"So who's having a baby?" Sakura asked.

"Gaara and Kina-chan," Ino said smugly.

Sakura waved her hand at that and scoffed. "Kina-san is no more pregnant that Naruto is," she said.

"Nani?" the others asked.

Muttering something about stupid servants, Sakura told the others what had happened. "I was there when Gaara opened that stupid mouth of his," she finished. "Kina-san was just tired from the trip."

"Are you _sure_ she's not pregnant?" Ino asked, disappointed.

"Hello?" Sakura said, pointing to herself. "Medic nin…remember?"

"Oh, yeah…"

The blonde was about to open her mouth to say something else when the voice of the owner of the boutique drifted over from the front of the store.

"What are _you _doing here, boy?" the woman snarled. "This is a decent establishment!"

The girls were dismayed by the woman's rudeness. Their eyes widened when they heard the customer reply in a _very_ familiar voice.

"That's why I'm here, madam," Naruto said calmly. "This is Temeki, handmaiden to Kinabuhi-sama, the Kazekage's _wife._ They've ordered me to help Temeki-san choose a locket for herself as well as an ankle bracelet we can attach the locket to."

Hinata quickly changed into her normal clothes and the girls shuffled into the front of the store. Considering the fact that they were just gossiping about the Kazekage and his Lady, they found the prize of talking to the Lady's handmaiden too tempting to pass up.

"How do I know that you aren't lying so that you can buy a locket for your girlfriend?" the shopkeeper asked, rudely.

"Saihoushi," Hinata interrupted dropping the respectful '-san' that she normally used. (1)

"Hinata-sama!" the shopkeeper said, turning to the heiress. "How may I help you?"

Hinata looked over at Naruto and the girl beside him. Temeki looked uncomfortable, embarrassed, angry, and out of place. _She looks like I feel most of the time,_ Hinata realized. She turned pale eyes to the shopkeeper and for the first time in her life acknowledged the power she had over people as the Hyuuga Heiress.

"You can start by returning each and every one of the kimonos I have chosen to the back of your store," she said sharply. "I will not purchase another piece of clothing or jewelry from your establishment. And neither will any Hyuuga from now on."

Ino, Sakura, and Tenten cheered their friend on silently while Naruto and Temeki looked at the newly confident Hinata with awe.

Hinata felt her friends' approval and kept talking. "I have no desire to shop in a place that shows its customers with disrespect."

"But he's Naruto—" the shopkeeper lamely defended herself.

"And he is here at the request of the Kazekage and his Lady," Hinata continued. "Come on, mina-san, I've recently heard of another shop a few streets down that specializes in formal clothing for the younger generation."

"You can also expect the women of the Haruno Clan to refrain from entering your shop," Sakura coldly stated.

"The same goes for the Yamanaka Clan," Ino added.

As they left the shop, the owner sank down to her knees as she realized her mistake. By refusing the demon, she had offended the Kazekage and ended up alienating three heiresses of Konoha's oldest shinobi families.

"I'm ruined…"

00000000000000000

Naruto was amazed and impressed by Hinata's guts. "Hinata-chan!" he yelled as he hugged the girl. "That was great! Thanks for standing up for us! Temeki thanks you too, don't you Temeki?"

Temeki looked down and nodded. She was surprised by the shopkeeper's anger and rudeness to Naruto and the fact that Hinata defended them. _Have people always treated Naruto this way?_ she asked herself.

Hinata blushed and smiled at the shy looking Temeki. "It's okay," she said. "I can't stand to see people treat other people like they're dirt. It happens too often in this village."

Tenten snorted and started walking down the street. "That's for damn sure."

"Peaceful, friendly village my ass," Ino added.

As other's followed the two kunoichis, a thought suddenly came to Temeki. Pitching her voice higher like she practiced in the Kazekage's apartments, she asked, "But what about your Clans? Will they go with what you said?"

Sakura and Ino looked at each other and bit their lips. They obviously didn't think that far ahead. Luckily, Hinata did.

"We'll tell them the truth," she said. At the curious faces before her, she elaborated. "We'll say that the shopkeeper was too much of an uppity bitch and refused to honor the request of the Kazekage and his wife."

Temeki was shocked by Hinata's foresight and cunning. It _was_ no less than the truth.

The others were just shocked by the Hyuuga's choice of words.

"H-hinata!" Naruto cried, pointing. "You said 'bitch'!"

The girl blushed one of her trademark blushes and looked down. "W-well," she stuttered. "That's what she is."

Ino and Sakura just looked at each other before crushing the red faced girl between them. "Congratulations, Hinata-chan!" they chorused. "We're so proud of you!"

Tenten looked at the trio and laughed. "Come on, you guys," she said, opening the door to a new store. "We're attracting a crowd."

The girls stopped hugging and went inside the store. Temeki and Naruto were the last to enter.

"Do I _have_ to get the stupid locket, dobe?" Temeki asked in her normal voice.

Naruto choked back his laughter at hearing the deep voice of Sasuke come from the mouth of the delicate girl in front of him.

"Yes," he answered. "Tsunade-baachan's orders."

Temeki frowned and kept frowning until Naruto said, "Gaara's picking up the check. Make sure you pick out an expensive one, ne? As long as it can hold locks of hair from all four of us, it should be fine."

Temeki thought of the possibilities and smirked. _Oh, yeah…_he thought. _Gaara's gonna _pay.

**

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A/N:**

Okay, more stuff! Kinda short compared to some chapters but…eh…

I know Hinata's ooc in this, but people grow and change…and you can never underestimate how much a good-looking outfit can boost your confidence!

**(1) **_Saihoushi_ means 'seamstress' in Japanese


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine…if he was, Kakashi would be running around without a shirt on all of the time…drools

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Chapter 12:  
Sasuke's Day Planner  
2 o'clock: Lunch with the Girls  
6 o'clock: Ninjutsu with the Hokage

Temeki could never figure out what girls talked about when they were alone. Never really cared to find out, actually. But now that she was "one of the girls," she finally got the chance to know.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, angrily. "Don't bother us. We want to talk to Temeki-san!"

Naruto frowned and stared down the pink haired girl. "I'm under orders from both Tsunade-baachan and Gaara, as well as Kina-chan, to protect Temeki-chan," he said. He then held out the heavy bags he carried. "And I'm carrying all of the shit you guys bought! You promised me ramen if I carried your stuff and I'm collecting on that promise, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked over at the other girls and sighed when they nodded. "Okay, fine," she conceded. "But sit three seats down from us!"

"It's gonna take that many seats to hold your bags anyway," Naruto muttered, but sat down and ordered some ramen.

Temeki ordered some miso ramen and sat down. After a few moments of silence, she turned to look at the other girls and sighed. "What are you staring at?" she asked, irritably. "Aren't you going to order?"

"We want to be able to fit into our kimonos for tonight," Ino answered for all of them.

"Well, I'm not going," Tenten said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice as she ordered a bowl of ramen. "I'm not from a major Clan."

"Aren't _you _worried about fitting into your clothes, Temeki-san?" Hinata asked.

The dark haired girl scoffed. "I'm not going either," she said.

"Yes you are, Temeki-chan!" Naruto said from the other side of the shopping bag wall he had created. "Gaara and Kina-chan want you to have the full Festival experience here."

"I don't have anything to wear," Temeki said, sounding even to her ears like a girl complaining about the lack of decent clothing in her closet.

Naruto laughed and swallowed the bit of ramen in his mouth. "Kina-chan has that covered," he answered.

"See?" Sakura said. "You _are_ going."

Temeki was about to reply when Neji stepped up next to Tenten. The girl noticed and turned around.

"Neji!" she said. "What's going on?"

The white-eyed genin coughed into his hand and looked over Tenten's shoulder to his cousin. Hinata smiled and made encouraging motions to her cousin. _I got her here, Neji-niisan!_ _It's up to you to ask her,_ she thought to herself.

Neji coughed again and blurted out, "Hiashi-sama has requested that I attend the Welcome dinner tonight, since Hanabi-sama is too young to attend. But that leaves the Hyuuga entourage at an odd number. Hinata-sama is to accompany her father, so I cannot escort her. Will you go to the dinner with me? I will be wearing a cream and light green yukata. Okay, we will pick you up at 8:30 this evening. I'll see you then. Goodbye."

The genin was gone before Tenten could blink. She turned to the others and asked, "Did he just ask me to the dinner tonight?"

The girls remained silent with the exception of Temeki.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "He did."

Temeki briefly heard Naruto mutter "Now you've done it, _teme_." into his ramen before the squealing started.

"Oh, my god!" Tenten cried. The sentence was echoed by the other girls—again with the exception of Temeki—at increasing volumes until Naruto's ears were ringing. "What am I going to wear?"

"How about the kimono you bought today?" Ino asked. "It's light green with cream accents."

"It's perfect!" Sakura added.

Tenten nodded and then scowled when a thought occurred to her. "_Too_ perfect," she said. "Hinata, it was you who persuaded me to buy that kimono wasn't it?"

The pale Hyuuga took an increased interest in Ichiraku's laminated menu. "I didn't know he added leeks to his miso ramen," she whispered.

"You didn't tell Neji where we were going to eat lunch, did you Hinata?" the weapons mistress asked.

Temeki expected the shy girl to cower immediately, but was surprised when she only placed the menu down on the counter and calmly faced her friend. "And what if I did?" she asked. "It got you what you both wanted, didn't it?"

"You go, Hinata-chan!" Naruto cheered from behind his wall-o-shopping bags.

Tenten stared at the girl for a minute before she broke and hugged her. "Thank you so much! You're the best friend ever!"

Hinata laughed and patted Tenten's back. "Okay, gotta breathe, Tenten."

They all laughed and looked up when Ayame-neechan and her father placed bowls of ramen in front of them.

"We didn't order this," Sakura said.

"Don't worry," Ayame said, winking. "It's my father's 'Diet Ramen' so you can fit into your kimonos for tonight!"

The girls smiled and began to wolf down the ramen. Temeki hesitated then decided to try it. After the first taste, she ate as quickly as the other girls. _This is the BEST ramen EVER!_ Temeki decided. (1)

"So, Temeki-san," Ino asked, innocently. "How long have you been working for Kina-chan?"

Temeki looked up, a ramen noodle hanging from the side of her mouth, and swallowed her food. "Umm…" she remembered what Kankuro had told them before they left the apartments. _Keep your answers short and as close to the truth as possible! And make sure to tell us what you said later!_

"Well," she started. "I got hurt on my way home after seeing my brother. Kina-sama found me and healed me. When they decided to come to Konoha, I was chosen to be her handmaiden. That's about it."

Temeki could feel Naruto relax on his side of the ramen bar and felt relieved that her answer was being accepted by the girls.

"So you don't know when they got married or how their personal life is?" Ino asked.

Temeki frowned. "They got married recently," she answered. "That's why they're here: to introduce Kina-sama to the Hokage. And as for their personal life, that's personal. The Kazekage wouldn't appreciate you butting into his business. If he wants people to gossip about him and his Lady, he'll start it himself. Like he already has, the _baka_. There's enough gossip going around about those two without _me_ adding to it." (2)

Sakura opened her mouth to ask another question when Naruto popped up from behind the shopping bags. "Temeki-chan, it's almost 4:30," he said. "If we want enough time to get yourself and Kina-chan ready for the dinner and that thing you guys have to do before it, we have to go now."

"Nani?" the girls screamed. "It's 4:30?" They each grabbed their respective bags and ran off in different directions.

"I have to go get my hair done!"

"My manicure appointment!"

"Do I have time for a facial?"

"I have to buy a new pair of shoes!"

Naruto laughed at the girls' retreating figures and grabbed a small black bag. "Let's go, Temeki-chan," he said seriously. "The others will be waiting."

00000000000000000

At 6 o'clock that evening, while other people were getting ready for the Welcome dinner, five people were preparing for a difficult jutsu. Naruto and Gaara wore plain white robes, while Kina and Tsunade wore white kimonos. The women already had their hair fixed for the dinner, but didn't wear any make-up.

What was the point when sweat would soon smear it?

Sasuke stood in the middle of the room, caught by an intricate seal written on the floor, in his boxers. He looked down at himself and sighed. _At least I'm male again,_ he thought.

He felt uncomfortable as a female. But the thing that worried him the most was that he felt oddly comfortable as a female as well. He'd even found himself checking out Kankuro and Naruto's asses as he walked behind them today. He didn't like what they were about to do to him, but, since he couldn't escape, took it as an opportunity to spy on the leaf and sand nin.

Tsunade took out a kunai and walked over to the Uchiha. After cutting a lock of his hair, she went to each demon vessel and got a lock of hair from them as well. When she got to Gaara, he pulled out a black lock of hair that had already been braided into a tiny braid.

"It's Kina-chan's," he answered the Godaime's unspoken question.

"Okay," she said. _Weird kid,_ she thought to herself and took the braid along with a lock of the Kazekage's hair. She braided each of the locks of hair and placed them inside the silver locket that Naruto bought earlier. Tsunade hung it on the ankle bracelet and locked it in place on Sasuke's right ankle.

"Alright, kids," the woman said. "Naruto, stand at the North corner; Gaara, you take the South. I'll be the East and Kina will be the West. Naruto, do you remember the chant I taught you?"

The blonde nodded and folded his hands into the appropriate seal. Gaara and the others followed suit.

"Just imagine giving your energy to Naruto, Kina," Tsunade instructed. "He'll do the rest."

"What's the code word?" Gaara asked. "It has to be something we won't forget but will never say in an actual conversation."

"CD," Kina said. "The code word is CD."

Tsunade nodded and looked over at Naruto. "Ya hear that kid?"

Naruto nodded again and closed his eyes. He felt an enormous amount of chakra pour into him from the other three. Opening his eyes, he shouted, "_Chikara henge no jutsu!_" (Forced Transformation Technique)

Red/gold/purple chakra poured from his hands and surrounded Sasuke. He screamed with pain and felt the anklet around his ankle burn his skin. He wasn't sure, but it felt as if the anklet was burning itself _into _his flesh. He fell to the ground when it was over and lay there panting.

Naruto strode to the boy and placed his still glowing hands on Sasuke's head. "CD," he whispered. Sasuke yelled again as his bones and muscles shifted and he turned into a female once more.

Temari came into the room then and placed a white kimono around the girl. "I'll take Temeki to the room to change," she said.

"Do you have the dress?" Kina asked, a sneaky smile on her face. The Sand nin nodded and smiled back. "Good."

The others looked at Kina and raised their eyebrows. She shook her head and turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama," she began. "That wasn't a normal _henge_."

"No, it wasn't."

"In fact, it wasn't a _henge no genjutsu_ at all."

Gaara and Naruto looked up at the softly spoken comment and turned to the two women.

"No. It was a physical transformation," Tsunade confirmed. "How did you know?"

Kina brought her hand up to her temple and tapped it twice. "When I looked at Sasuke, I didn't 'see' him. I saw a female…I saw _Temeki._"

"Baa-chan," Naruto said. "What did you do?"

The older woman shrugged and said, "I may have misinterpreted the scroll and placed the anklet on the right ankle for the full physical transformation instead of the left for the illusionary transformation, instead."

"What?" Naruto asked. "So Sasuke's _really_ a girl, with the hormones and the mood swings and everything?"

Tsunade laughed. "It will also take him a while to figure out how chakra flows in his new body. It's different for females, y'know," she said. "He's not going to be interrogated by Ibiki until after the Festival. He might as well endure _some_ punishment for leaving until then."

At that moment, a loud yell came from the room Temari had taken Temeki to. Tsunade, Gaara, and Naruto looked over at Kina, who smiled brightly at them.

"Kina-chan…" Naruto trailed off.

"Tsunade-sama's not the only one who wanted to punish the Uchiha," she commented.

"Kinabuhi," Gaara growled.

"Do you remember my dress from the Valentine's Day dinner, Gaara-kun?"

The Kazekage nodded and growled again at the reminder of that indecent garment.

"Did you know that I had several of the same design made in different colors?"

Gaara's growl turned into a choking sound as he realized what she was trying to tell him.

"She's about the same size as me," Kina noted. "Except her shoulders are a bit broader. But considering the dress, it doesn't matter."

"So Sasuke—"

"Temeki," Naruto interrupted.

Gaara stared at the kyuubi vessel and frowned. "—is wearing one of the other dresses you had made?"

"Ding ding ding…and tell the boy what he's won!" Kina joked in a strange voice.

"I can't wait to see this," Gaara said, walking out of the room.

"I also told Temari to put Temeki's hair up."

The redhead speeded up and walked into the room that the boys were going to change in. "Now I _really_ can't wait to see this."

"See what?" Naruto asked. Tsunade was behind him, an equally curious look on her face.

Kina looked at the duo and smiled a grin that reminded Naruto of the way Gaara was before they fought and the Sand nin became somewhat nicer.

"You'll see," she laughed.

Naruto shook his head as the sound of that laugh caused shivers to run down his spine.

"Y'know," Tsunade whispered to Naruto. "I never _really_ thought that Gaara and Kina belonged with each other until this very moment."

The blonde nodded and headed to the room to change. He was thinking the same exact thing.

**

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A/N:**

Sorry for the lack of Gaara/Kina goodness, but there's a point to all this Sasuke/Temeki stuff, seriously!

And no, Sasuke isn't gay in this fic…at least I don't think so. My writing method is more a "in the moment" kind of thing, so he _might_ end up gay, or at least bi-curious. (Switching sexes like that would confuse most people!)

Thanks again for the reviews and all of the support! I've got a few chapters brewing for the festival…don't worry it won't be all fun and games! ;) Take care, y'all!

**(1) **Remember the episode where Naruto, Chouji, and Sakura help the Ichiraku guy? Well, yeah, _that_ ramen.

**(2) **Temeki is referring to when Gaara said Kina was in "a delicate condition" and how now everyone thinks that Kina's pregnant.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the song "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder…and I don't own Naruto…but if I did…well, you read the disclaimer from the _last_ chapter right? Oohhh…yeah…c'mere Kakashi…

**Gaara/**slaps blacksyryn/

**blacksyryn: **thanks

**Gaara: **what's _with _you?

**blacksyryn: **blame it on this picture /shows piture of Kakashi nekkid from the waist up/ (Sorry I can't post the link here...)

**Kina and Temari: **Oooohhhh….drools

**blacksyryn: **thank you dragonrider6, whoever you are!

**Gaara: **can we start the chapter now?

**blacksyryn: **thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and—what? Oh, yeah, the chapter…hehehe

**Gaara: **Filler End!

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Chapter 13: Dinner and Music

Naruto, Gaara and Kankuro stood outside of the girls' dressing room. The dinner was downstairs and they couldn't afford to be late. "Kina!" they heard Temari yell from behind the door. "Hold her down!"

After a short scuffle, the door opened and Temeki was shoved into the hallway followed by an out of breath looking Kina and a flushed Temari. Even though they had obviously fought the former Uchiha into the dress, the two Sand kunoichi looked fresh and beautiful.

Temari wore a silvery gray kimono with dark blue accents and a dark blue obi. Her hair was left down around her shoulders and her make-up accentuated her dark blue eyes. Kina wore a dark blue kimono—and Gaara was glad to notice that it was a _traditional_ kimono this time—with royal blue accents and a blue obi that matched the blue on the Kazekage robes Gaara was wearing. Her hair was up in its usual crown of braids, but a few locks fell loose along her cheeks. Her eye make-up was light, but her lips were painted a dark red that made Gaara want to chew on them.

Kankuro and Naruto each wore black yukatas. Kankuro's had accents of purple on them while Naruto's had accents of red and orange. The puppet master's face was devoid of make-up for the third time in Kina's presence and he looked somewhat uncomfortable with the stares Naruto and Temeki were giving him.

"I'm not going downstairs," Temeki said.

Naruto tilted his head and looked at the girl. "What's wrong with your dress?" he asked.

"More importantly," Kankuro asked. "What's wrong with your voice?"

It was true; the former Uchiha's voice was croaky and changed from low to high pitch with every word.

Kina laughed. "Temeki-chan's body is getting used to itself," she explained. "Her vocal chords are going haywire."

"And as for the dress," Temari said. She showed the men the front, which was a flattering off-white color with a dark blue obi. Temeki's make-up was light, like Kina's, but unlike Kina, instead of dark red lipstick, her lips were coated with a shiny pink color.

Naruto didn't see what the big deal was. It looked like a normal kimono to the leaf shinobi. Kankuro and Gaara, who had seen Kina's Valentine's Day dress, smirked as Temari turned the mortified Temeki around.

Although the sleeves of the dress covered the back of her shoulders, the rest of the dress was cut to reveal Temeki's smooth white skin all the way to where the obi rested on the small of her back. Temari had arranged Temeki's hair in a way that kept it piled high on her head and refused to allow one strand down to conceal her skin.

"Oh, my god," a voice came from behind them.

Temeki knew that voice and stiffened before she turned around. Her worst fears were confirmed when Tsunade _and_ Jiraiya stood at the top of the stairs.

"You're going to let Temeki downstairs in _that?_" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya was too busy taking care of his nosebleed to say anything.

"Why not?" Kina asked. "I looked at the guest list. A lot of the feudal lords who came to our Valentine's Day dinner are here and they saw me wear the same type of dress there."

"Your back was covered by your hair," Gaara mentioned.

Temeki went ballistic. "You covered your back with your hair?" she shouted. "Why can't _I_ do the same thing?"

"Because _you_ don't have a husband," Kina shot back.

The others were confused at her response, so she decided to explain.

Or in other words…lie.

She wanted the former Uchiha to suffer, after all.

"In my country," she began. "Maidens wear dresses like that to attract potential mates."

"But you covered your back with your hair…" Temeki whispered.

The girl smirked and leaned against Gaara. "I already considered him my mate at the time," she admitted. "He just didn't know it."

Gaara laughed and ran his hand down his wife's _covered_ back. "It was a quick way to get my attention, Kina-chan," he acknowledged.

"That's the point, Gaara-kun," she replied.

"But what about the Clans?" Tsunade asked.

"If they ask, then tell them that it is a traditional gown from my wife's homeland," Gaara said, holding onto Kina's waist. "And if they have any objections, they can take it up with me."

"Why are you here anyway?" Kankuro asked. "Aren't you supposed to be receiving your guests?"

Tsunade patted her hair, which was held in an artful disarray at the crown of her head, and ran her hand down her light gold kimono. At the same time, Jiraiya straightened his dark red yukata.

"I forgot to tell you about the Opening Ceremony," she said.

"Opening…Ceremony?" the Sand nins, plus Temeki, echoed.

Naruto slapped his hand against his forehead and laughed. "I forgot about that!" he said. "So who's doing it this year?"

Tsunade frowned at the blonde boy. "I thought that you'd never been to a Welcoming dinner before?"

"Not officially," he answered with a mischievous smile on his face.

"What's this Opening Ceremony?" Gaara asked, impatient with their banter. (A/N: "banter" that's another great word. I wonder why I didn't use it earlier.)

"One of the guests sings a song to start the dinner and the Summer Festival," Naruto said.

"And this year, the Council decided that, as our ally and as a way to help people forget that Suna was part of Orochimaru's attack two years ago, a person from the Kazekage's entourage will have the honors of the Opening Ceremony," Tsunade finished. (1)

"NANI?" the four Sand nin shouted.

"I can't sing!" Temari gasped.

"I'm not singing outside of a shower!" Kankuro said.

"No," Gaara calmly declined.

Everyone turned to Kina, who squeaked and looked behind her, as if another person from Suna would magically appear there. "What about Temeki?" she asked.

"The Council wouldn't be happy with anything less than a member of the Kazekage's family," Jiraiya said, recovered now that Temeki's back was facing away from him.

"And you know that she can't sing with her voice in the condition it's in," Temari said. Temeki grabbed onto any excuse she could and violently nodded her head up and down.

"You play piano all the time, Kina-chan," Kankuro added.

"Can it just be an instrumental?" she asked, crossing her fingers and hoping to God for an affirmative.

"No. It has to be a song with words," Tsunade explained.

_Damn,_ she thought. "How about if I sit at the piano and played and sang at the same time?" she asked. _Then I don't have to look directly at the audience!_

Tsunade nodded. "That's fine," she said and grabbed Jiraiya's elbow. "Let's go downstairs, people are waiting."

Naruto bowed to Temari and offered her his hand. The Sand kunoichi giggled and took it. "You know that Shikamaru's my boyfriend," she said.

The blonde shrugged. "He'll be sitting with his and Chouji's Clan. I'm sitting with Ero-sennin, Tsunade-baachan, and your Clan at the High Table," the boy mentioned.

"How'd you manage that?" she asked.

"I'm Jiraiya-sama's apprentice," he scoffed. "He refused to come if they didn't invite me too."

"That's mean of them. But nice of _him_," Temari whispered.

Naruto looked at the back of his sensei and smiled. "I know."

Kankuro didn't bother bowing, but took Temeki's hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow. "Let's get this over with," he murmured. "And don't forget to _act_ like a girl."

Temeki frowned and tried to stomp on the puppet master's foot, but the feel of a draft against her back distracted her enough to make her miss.

_Damn dress,_ she cursed.

Gaara offered Kina his arm and she took it. He noticed her hand shaking and placed his own over it. "It will be alright," he whispered. "Just look at me the entire time and the song will be over before you know it."

"I don't even _know_ what song to sing!" she said, panicking.

"Sing something from your heart," he said lovingly. "Something from your homeland, maybe."

Kina looked up into Gaara's green eyes and suddenly knew what to sing.

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Neji was excited to have the girl he wanted standing next to him and held her hand in the crook of his arm. _Finally,_ the Hyuuga thought.

He looked over at his cousin and smiled. _Hinata-sama is finally opening up now that Hiashi-sama acknowledges her,_ he thought. He'd heard of the episode in the boutique from another Hyuuga Branch member and was surprised to hear that Hinata stood up to her father's accusations of idiocy and hot-temperedness. She claimed that as a Hyuuga, they upheld the honor of Konoha. Therefore, if they patronized an establishment that had no honor, then Hyuuga had no honor and by association, Konoha had no honor.

Hiashi had only stared at his daughter and grudgingly accepted her argument.

Neji was happy for his cousin.

He no longer held his grudge against the Head Family. He managed to sit in on a few Hyuuga Clan meetings and realized that his uncle fought very hard to help the rights of the Branch Family grow and change. His uncle had invited him to such meetings before, but he had always declined, thinking that the invitations were nothing more than false hopes that would lead to shattered dreams.

He knew better now and if the girl by his side agreed to remain there for the rest of their lives, he would die a content man. He wondered what the dark haired kunoichi was feeling at the moment.

_Is she as excited as I am?_

Tenten was nervous.

She'd never been to the Welcome dinner before and was afraid she'd screw it up somehow. She looked over at Hinata and wondered at how many personalities the girl had.

First there was the shy Hinata everyone knew. Second, there was the gossip loving Hinata Tenten knew. Then there was the verbal ass kicking Hinata from this afternoon.

Now, Tenten had the pleasure of seeing "Formal Hinata" as she had decided to call the current incarnation girl.

"Formal Hinata" had all of the grace and bearing expected of the Hyuuga Heiress. Gone was the hesitation, the shyness. This Hinata _knew_ where she belonged and—better yet, in Tenten's opinion—_believed_ that she deserved to be there.

Her friend looked beautiful in the dark gold kimono she bought that afternoon. _I can't believe we found the _same _kimono in that other shop for less than half the price!_ Tenten thought. It gave Hinata an excuse to buy more clothes from the store, since her father expected a large bill on what she bought that afternoon.

She brushed her hand down her own pale green kimono and looked over at Neji.

The dark haired, pale eyed, shinobi wore a traditional yukata in cream and pale green. In fact, his clothing was a mirror opposite of hers. The weapons mistress looked over at Hinata again and sighed.

_Just how long were they planning this?_

She brushed the thought to a corner of her mind as she looked around the ballroom for her other friends. She knew that the Nara, Akimichi, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clan tables would most likely be close together. While the Yamanaka's table would be closer to the Nara's and the Haruno Clan would choose a table next to the Yamanaka Clan, as far away from the bug using Aburame Clan as possible.

_Jeez, Clan politics is confusing,_ she thought.

Tenten looked over the ballroom again and found her friends sitting in almost the exact places she predicted.

Sakura was sitting in a spot that let her talk to Ino as well as Shikamaru and Chouji. Kiba was the closest to the quartet as he sat next to Shino at the Aburame/Inuzuka table.

The pink haired kunoichi wore a dark red kimono with light pink accents and a black obi. Her hair was up in what she called the "Haruno Hair-do of Death" and Tenten could see why—the quintet of braids circling the medic's head looked painful.

Ino was more fortunate in the hair style department than Sakura. But not so in the color coordination one. Her light blue kimono should have clashed with the bright orange obi she wore—_What did she do…steal it from Naruto?_—but strangely, the combination suited the blonde. Unfortunately, the color combo seemed to take the place of a Clan Crest since all of the Yamanaka's were attired in the two colors.

The boys' clothes were simpler—as most boys clothes were. Each one wore yukatas that were basically all the same with the exception of color and whether or not the boy in question chose to wear his forehead protector.

Shikamaru's yukata was black with accents of dark blue, his forehead protector was in its usual place on his arm. Chouji wore a light yellow yukata that flattered his complexion; he had left his protector at home.

So had Kiba. The boy wore a dark red yukata with black accents and a black belt that had a red paw print on it. Shino wore a black yukata that had no accents she could see. In fact, it just looked plain _black._ His forehead protector was on his arm, like Shikamaru, and without it, his spikey hair fell around his head and into his eyes every so often. (2)

Tenten looked away from her friends and followed Neji and Hinata to the Hyuuga Clan's table near the front of the room, right next to the High Table where the Hokage, Kazekage, and both of their entourages were supposed to sit. _Too bad Lee's on a mission with Gai-sensei,_ Tenten thought. _That way, _everyone_ could be here._ She looked over at Sakura's table and frowned. _Well,_ _almost everyone._

Everyone stood when the Hokage, escorted by Jiraiya, entered the room. Shizune followed her teacher on the arm of a flushed looking Iruka. The Elders came in next, Asuma and Kuranai following meekly after them. Kakashi, in a silvery green yukata, escorted a blushing and strangely shy Anko.

The Hokage's entourage was followed by the Kazekage's; which was led by Gaara and Kina. Temari and Naruto followed and lastly, Kankuro and Temeki. Whispers flew as the guests saw Naruto and grew louder when Temeki passed by them.

Tenten had an idea why people were whispering about Naruto, after this afternoon she'd have to be an absolute moron not to, but didn't find it too strange that the boy was invited to the dinner.

_He _is_ Jiraiya-sama's apprentice,_ she thought irritably.

She didn't understand why people were whispering about Temeki until she heard an aunt of Neji whisper, "That dress is absolutely scandalous!"

She craned her neck and just about lost her eyes when they tried to pop out of her head.

_Holy sh—!_

The thought was cut off by the Hokage taking the small stage that the band was set up on. She held up her arms and began.

"I would like to welcome you to Konoha's Welcome dinner! This marks the beginning of our Summer Festival and as such, the person who has the honor of performing the Opening Ceremony is our guest from Suna, Kinabuhi-sama!"

Tenten watched as Gaara escorted Kina to the stage and stood in front of Tsunade-sama. He held out their joined hands and said in a clear and proud voice, "Hokage-sama, I would like to introduce to you and your guests my wife—Kinabuhi."

Whispers flew through the ballroom again as the Hokage took Kina's hand and ushered her to the piano, Gaara following close behind. She sat down at the piano and smiled nervously at the crowd. Tenten noticed Gaara's lips moving, like he was saying something, and Kina's smile changed from nervous to blindingly entrancing.

She placed her hands on the piano keyes and began the intro to her song. Tenten watched the girl take a shaky breath and started to sing in a strong, husky voice.

_For once in my life  
__I have someone who needs me  
__Someone I've needed so long  
__For once unafraid  
__I can go where life leads me  
__And somehow I know I'll be strong_

_For once I can touch  
__What my heart used to dream of  
__Long before I knew  
__Someone warm like you  
__Could make my dreams come true_

_For once in my life  
__I won't let sorrow hurt me  
__Not like it's hurt me before  
__For once I've got someone  
__I know won't desert me  
__I'm not alone anymore_

_For once I can say  
__This is mine, you can't take it  
__As long as I've got love I know I can make it  
__For once in my life  
__I've got someone who needs me!_

Kina moved her fingers over the keys and played the bridge of the song, her eyes never leaving the pleasantly shocked gaze of her husband. At the High Table, Naruto's eyes gleamed with unshed tears.

_For **once** in my life  
__I won't let sorrow hurt me  
__Not like it's **hurt** me before  
__For once I've got someone  
__I know won't desert me  
__I'm not **alone** anymore_

_For once I can say  
__This is **mine**, you can't **take** it  
__As long as I've got love I know I can make it  
__For once in my life  
__I've got someone who **needs** **me!**_

Kina ended the song and looked at her husband, who had suddenly appeared beside her. The ballroom was silent as the Kazekage held out his hand to his wife. She took it and he hauled her into his arms. His words echoed through the quiet room as clearly as if he'd used a microphone.

"From the heart, eh, Kinabuhi?" he asked.

Kina looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"From the heart, Gaara-kun," she answered.

The crowd finally broke into applause as Gaara pulled Kina closer and kissed her smiling mouth.

**

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A/N: **

Aww…damn it, I teared up a bit writing that scene…I love that song, it seems to fit in with Gaara and Haku and Naruto and Kimimaro and all of the other lonely characters in Naruto…

Wah!

**(1) **It's been almost two years since the Chuunin exams.

**(2) **Think Horohoro from that fight in Shaman King against that "preachy" dude during the Shaman Tournament, or that cute little Goth kid from South Park (the one with black and burgundy hair) that always has to toss his head to get his bangs out of his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto…I _do_ own a trio of key chains that show a chibi-fied Sasuke, Kiba, and Gaara as well as a larger key chain of Gaara standing in the desert with his gourd…you all know the one. Oh, and if you wanna see the picture of Kakashi I've been drooling over, check out my profile. There's a link to it there!

**

* * *

**

Chapter 14: Insults, Dancing, and an All-Around Good Time for Everybody!

When Kina and Gaara finally disengaged and sat at the High Table, Naruto gave the girl a huge hug.

"That was the prettiest, best, and truest song I've ever heard, Kina-chan," the blonde whispered.

Gaara nodded at Naruto's statement and accepted the napkin Kankuro offered him. He wiped away Kina's lipstick from his lips while his wife quickly re-applied what she had lost. They both looked up when Tsunade started talking again from the stage.

"I'm sure I speak for all of us, when I thank Kinabuhi-sama for that beautiful song." Unshed tears shone brightly in the Godaime's eyes and she smiled at Gaara and then at Naruto. "I heartily approve of Kazekage-sama's choice of a bride. Now, let's eat!"

Kina could have sworn she heard someone yell out "Finally!" but ignored it, since it came from the Akimichi table.

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When the main course was finished, Gaara informed Kina that now was the time for them to mingle with the other guests and introduce her to the Clans before the music started. She swallowed nervously and took Gaara's hand. Temari and Naruto, as well as Kankuro and Temeki followed closely behind them.

The first table they visited was the Hyuuga Clan's table.

"Kazekage-sama," Hiashi said as he bowed. The rest of the white-eyed group bowed with him. "Kinabuhi-sama, it is good to know that your husband has found a woman who cares so much for him."

"It's no less than what I feel for her, Hiashi-san," Gaara stated coolly.

Kina was uncomfortable with the growing silence between the two men and smiled at Hinata. "Hinata-san," she said. "It's nice to meet you at last. I can't thank you enough for coming to Temeki's aid this afternoon."

Hinata tilted her head and accepted Kina's thanks. Her eyes widened as she heard one of the more outspoken Hyuuga aunts whisper: "If Temeki is that woman with Kankuro-san, she probably deserved to be kicked out of that boutique."

Both Hiashi and Hinata heard the comment, as well as the Sand nins, Temeki, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten. Temeki blushed and looked down in shame. Just when she had gotten used to the dress and even began _enjoying _the feel of it and the looks thrown her way, this happens.

Gaara was about to tear into the woman, when Kina's hand tightened on his arm. He looked down at her and noticed her smile had grown a sharp edge, as if she was a freshly bloodied hawk about to dine on a field mouse.

"And why do you say that, ma'am?" she asked in a sweet, calm voice.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes as he waited for what the Kazekage's woman would do. The foolish woman who whispered behind him was of the Head Family; any outright insult would lead to strained politics in both Hidden Villages.

"I don't know if you approved of her attire before you arrived, Kinabuhi-sama," the audacious woman spoke up. "But clothing like that is more at home at a brothel."

Hiashi and Hinata winced at the woman's plain speaking. They looked at each other and knew that there was no way to escape from this unscathed.

"Really?" Kina asked softly. "And if I told you that I not only approved of Temeki's clothing, but _designed _it as well, what would you say then? Would that make me the brothel's Madam?"

Kina continued as the woman started to sputter. "And if I told you that in my homeland, gowns such as Temeki's are worn by maidens to attract prospective husbands, what would that make my homeland? The brothel, itself?"

Tenten held Neji's arm as the drama unfolded before them. She desperately wanted to come to Temeki's aid, but didn't know what to do that wouldn't make things worse. Around them, conversations ceased as word of the altercation between the Hyuuga Clan and the Suna Bride spread.

"And if I told you that I wore such a gown the night my husband decided to make me his wife, what would that make _him_? My desperate, lust crazed customer?" she asked harshly, the sweet smile never leaving her face.

"There is no village with clothing like that in Suna…" the woman weakly answered.

Kina tilted her head and narrowed her purple eyes at the woman. "Ah, but I have found the problem," she gently cooed. Her gaze sharpened and her eyes started to glow.

"Your ignorance is presenting itself, Madam Hyuuga. I am not _from _Suna. I was not born there, nor was I raised there. I forgive you for your lack of knowledge. But believe me when I say that any who give offense a second time witness more of my bloodline limit than a simple light show." (1)

"Is that a threat, Kinabuhi-sama?" Hiashi asked. His respect for the Kazekage's bride grew with each passing moment, but if she erred now, it wouldn't take much for outright war to break out.

The beautiful woman tilted her head in the other direction and smiled at the Head of the Hyuuga Clan. Hiashi was reminded of a katana with fresh blood on it.

"Of course not, Hiashi-san," she said, automatically following Gaara's cue and calling the man by the lesser "-san" rather than grant the Hyuuga the equality of the "-sama" title. "I merely wished to enlighten your Clan member and ease the minds of anyone else who expresses curiosity towards my homeland, its customs, or myself, of course."

Hiashi's eyes widened. Kinabuhi-sama was indeed someone to watch if she decided to take an active role in the politics of her husband's Village.

Gaara chose that moment to extend his hand to Hinata. "Hinata-san," he said. "My wife and I would enjoy your company as I introduce her to the other Clans. Perhaps the encounters will prove to be less strenuous with your calming aura to begin the introductions rather than myself."

Hiashi was blinking in surprise. It seemed that the Kazekage's woman wasn't the only one who possessed a silver tongue. Together, Gaara and Kinabuhi were certainly destined to build Suna to the greatness it had always wanted to achieve.

Hinata looked over at her father and noticed his slight nod. She took Gaara's hand and allowed him to place her hand in the crook of his free arm. She was about to ask about Tenten and her cousin when Kina spoke up.

"It would please me greatly if you allowed Hyuuga Neji and his escort to join us as well, Hiashi-san," she requested. "I find myself with the need to be surrounded by others my age. You understand of course…"

The Hyuuga nodded and allowed Neji and Tenten to join the Kazekage's growing entourage.

With Gaara in the lead, escorting both Kina and Hinata, they left the Hyuuga table and headed toward the others.

00000000000000000

"Oh my God!" Kina burst out as she sat in one of the chairs on the moonlit terrace. "I wanted to claw that woman's _eyes_ out and turn them into earrings! No offense, Hinata, Neji."

The two Hyuuga cousins laughed and waved her apologies away.

"She's always like that," Hinata said. "I don't know why Father brings her to these things anyway. Her big mouth almost _always_ gets us into trouble."

"Maybe she has embarrassing pictures of him," Neji joked, unexpectedly.

Hinata paused to think about it and laughed. "Maybe…" she agreed.

Everyone was on the terrace. After each introduction to a Clan, either Gaara or Kina had made up an excuse to take one or more of the Clan's teenagers with them. Now they were having a little mini-party of their own while the "adults" mingled inside.

Naruto sat with Hinata, Neji, and Tenten and laughed with them at Neji's joke.

Temari and Shikamaru were cloud gazing in one of the darker corners of the terrace. Kina knew that they were probably making out. After all, who can cloud gaze in the middle of the night?

Sakura sat with Temeki and together they argued and talked about anything and everything.

Ino was where she liked to be: the center of attention of a group of boys. Granted the boys were Kiba, Chouji, Kankuro, and Shino. But she was willing to deal with the others if it meant getting closer to the one she wanted. She smiled and laughed at another of Kankuro's jokes and hoped the Sand nin got the message.

"Maybe they're from when Hiashi-sama was a baby," Neji wondered as he stared at the sky. Tenten shivered next to him and he automatically put his arm around her.

"Or maybe they're of him in drag," Naruto added.

"Him sitting on top of a flamingo's legs," Kina laughed.

"No, it's him trying on Sandaime-sama's hat," Hinata giggled.

By this point, everyone had tuned in to the conversation and started making up ridiculous scenarios of what Battle-axe Hyuuga—as the woman was now being called—had to blackmail the mighty Head of the Hyuuga Clan.

"It's him playing golf with a flamingo," Kina said.

"It's him sucking on his thumb at the age of 30," Kiba called out.

"It's him and a flamingo dancing the mambo!"

"No, it's of him taking pink yukatas out of the washing machine and wearing them wet!"

"It's him trying to ride a flamingo…"

"Kina-chan, quit it with the flamingo," Gaara growled.

"It's—"

"It's time to dance!"

Everyone looked at the Godaime. She stood at the entrance to the terrace and frowned at her shinobi.

"I understand that you're teenagers," she began. "But this Welcome dinner is for _everyone_. The band has been playing nothing but dull stuff since you guys aren't around to demand something that has more life to it! I demand you get your asses back in here and boogie!"

Naruto looked over at Hinata and mouthed: _Boogie?_

Kina looked over at Gaara and smiled. "Ready to dance?" she asked him.

Gaara stood up and grabbed Kina's hand. "You bet!" he answered. He ran inside and knew that the others would follow. Out of morbid curiosity if nothing else. He walked up to the stage and whispered something into the band director's ear. The director smiled and whispered to his band.

As this was happening, he took the Kazekage robes off of his body. Underneath, Gaara wore form fitting black slacks and a black dress shirt. And ballroom dancing shoes.

Kina undid the obi and took off her kimono. She handed the fabric to a stunned Naruto and joined Gaara in the middle of the now empty dance floor. The dark blue skirts of her spaghetti strap, knee-length dress fluttered around her as Gaara spun her around twice before pulling her to his body.

The couple stood there gazing into each other's eyes as the first chords of a tango burst into the air.

Everyone sat or stood where they were, stunned at what they were seeing.

The Kazekage was dancing…and dancing _well. _(2)

Better than 'well' actually.

The couple executed swift turns and sharp moves to the beat of the music. Each step seemed to throb with the sexual attraction between the Kazekage and his wife. Together, they danced playfully, skillfully, and, most importantly, joyfully. Kina teased Gaara unmercifully; dancing close to his body before spinning away only to be caught by the Sand nin once again.

Gaara's strong arms lifted and supported Kina when he brought her into a dip that had her hair brushing the floor. With every accented phrase, the two dancers would strike a tango pose that surprised and impressed their avid audience.

Gaara spun Kina in his arms quickly and then stopped in front of Tsunade and Jiraiya. The younger couple looked at each other and smiled, then grabbed the older couple's hands and pulled them onto the dance floor.

Gaara danced with Tsunade and patiently taught her the basics of the tango.

Jiraiya, Kina noticed, already knew the tango and took the opportunity to show off as he led her in a complicated series of footwork across the floor.

She looked over at her husband and caught his eye. He danced Tsunade over to where she and Jiraiya danced and executed a quick turn that ended with Kina in his arms and Tsunade in Jiraiya's.

The older man shrugged and continued to tango, this time with Tsunade following his lead.

One by one, Kina and Gaara repeated this maneuver with each of the teenagers and then the Clan members until everyone was on the dance floor.

When the tango ended and a waltz began, everyone left the dance floor. But a few couples remained.

Kina and Gaara were obviously one of them.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were one of the others. Along with Hinata and Naruto, Neji and Tenten, and Temari and Shikamaru.

But the one couple that surprised everyone was Kankuro and Ino.

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The band only played one waltz that night. The rest of the music they played was fast, energetic music that didn't really require the intimacy or the counting that the waltz did.

The Entourage—as they had heard many of the 'adults' call the group of teens—were sitting at the High Table, drinking water and talking.

"Hey Gaara," Shikamaru asked. "Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

Gaara took a sip of water and held a sleepy Kina in his lap. "I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Happy Feet," he shot back.

The shadow user laughed as Gaara reminded him about his impromptu tap dancing "battle" with Kankuro. Temari objected to the fact that his shoulder—which she was using as a pillow—was moving. "I asked you first," he said.

"Just answer him so we can go to bed," Kina demanded as she curled into her husband's lap.

The other's laughed at her statement, but knew the time was coming when they'd all have to go home and sleep.

"I grew up in Suna," Gaara finally answered. "And I had Shukaku inside me. Put that together and you get long boring hours with nothing to do. I came across a scroll one day and I thought that it was full of taijutsu."

"It ended up being one of those 'Do It Yourself' books," Kankuro continued. Ino smiled at him from her seat across the table. He smiled back. "Gaara taught himself how to dance with it."

"We—yawn!—asked Father to get us a real instructor," Temari added. "If Gaara wanted to dance, we would too."

"Gaara was declared a dancing master by the age of eight," Kankuro mentioned.

"Wow," Shikamaru said. "I just took the classes because my mom made me."

Gaara chuckled. "What can I say? I had a long, lonely childhood."

No one noticed Gaara's quiet smile when he said this. Except for five people.

Temari and Kankuro smiled happily for their little brother. He had finally found the peace he needed to face his damaged past. Finally, he could be happy. And they both loved Kina fiercely for the gift she had given their brother.

Naruto and Temeki nodded at Gaara's words. They too had had to face difficult childhoods. Naruto had managed to smile through his and work unceasingly toward his goal.

Temeki knew that she wasn't as accepting and persistent as Naruto had been (and still _was_) and doubted that she would meet someone who would love her enough to help her reach peace like Gaara. She refused to accept that state of mind until her brother was dead. (3)

Kina smiled against her husband's neck and gently kissed it. She always knew that Gaara, _this _Gaara, was underneath the abrasive exterior. Now all of his friends knew it, too.

**

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A/N:**

Okay! Wow! Writing that confrontation scene between Kina and Battle-axe Hyuuga was harder than I thought! I kept wondering what she should say and how she should say it without her actually lying or insulting the Hyuuga family.

This fanfic is far from done, folks! There's still the matter ofwhat will Tsunade do with that pesky younger Uchiha hanging around her village?

Well, we'll see now won't we?

**(1) **Gaara and the others have decided to keep Kina's demon side a secret. Instead, they blame her powers and her eyes on a "bloodline limit" that doesn't really exist.

**(2) **This is the secret Kina made him tell her in Chapter 10…hehehe!

**(3) **Remember…Temeki's really Sasuke and he isn't totally rehabilitated from Orochimaru's mental poison and his hatred against his brother.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine…but if you wanna see something funny go to google and type "real ninjas"…click on the youTube link and prepare to laugh your ass off. Ah…wipes eyes good times.

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Chapter 15: Festival's End

Iruka sat at Ichiraku and smiled at Ayame-chan. Even though he had been Shizune's escort the night of the Welcome dinner, the kind-hearted teacher knew that it had been nothing more than a "pity" date—on both sides. It was the last day of Konoha's week long Summer Festival and he was determined to enjoy it.

After all, school started again next week.

The chuunin shuddered at the realization and turned his head when he felt the familiar presence of his friend appear at his side.

"Kotetsu," he murmured. "Tsunade-sama let you out of your cage?"

The wild haired man laughed sarcastically and gently punched Iruka on the shoulder. "Very funny."

Iruka looked around and then at Kotetsu. "Where's your shadow?" he asked.

"Trailing someone else for a change," Kotetsu sat down next to the teacher and swiped a fish cake from the other man's ramen bowl.

"Really?" he asked as he pushed his almost empty bowl to his friend. "Who?"

"I'll give you two guesses," he said, adjusting the bandage across his nose and stuffing his mouth with the remaining noodles. "She's short, she has a strange affection for her hand fans, and she loves pandas."

Iruka smiled. "You could have stopped with the hand fans," he said.

Kotetsu smiled back. "But I _love_ the pandas part!"

"Why is Itsumo with Kinabuhi-sama?" Iruka asked. "Isn't the Kazekage with her?"

"For once he isn't," the other replied. "Godaime-sama needed to speak to him alone so she ordered Itsumo and me to watch her."

"Then why are _you_ here?"

"Itsumo drew the short straw."

"…"

Kotetsu drained the bowl of soup and immediately, another bowl of ramen appeared before him. "We bumped into Naruto, Temeki-san, Hinata, and Sakura on the Festival grounds. Kinabuhi-sama said that with Naruto and the others there she didn't need us."

"But you're under Godaime-sama's orders," Iruka pointed out, looking at something in the distance.

"Exactly!" the ramen consuming man muttered.

"But you went anyway…"

"I might have mentioned something about not eating breakfast yet," Kotetsu admitted. "Kinabuhi-sama sure has a soft heart for people who haven't eaten yet…did you notice?" (1)

"She offered to share her bento with me when she stopped by the Academy to talk about teaching methods while I wrote up the schedules for next semester," Iruka mentioned.

"Teaching methods?" the other man asked, forgetting his own story for the moment.

"Hai, she's the head of the Taijutsu Department for Suna's Ninja Academy," Iruka informed. The something that the teacher had been staring at before came closer and he brought his friend back to the previous topic.

"So you just left her?"

Kotetsu looked up at his friend, insulted. "I did not just _leave_ her!" he said loudly, attracting attention to the duo. "She told me that she didn't need me anymore and to go eat something because she wasn't hungry yet, and couldn't stand the thought of someone not eating when they were hungry just because they were too busy guarding her!"

"So she ordered you to leave?"

"Yeah, in a manner of speaking."

"Even though you were under the orders of Godaime-sama and probably the Kazekage as well?"

"Yeah…" Kotetsu repeated slowly. "Iruka, why are you making me repeat all of this?"

"Because…" the teacher said, pointing over his friend's shoulder. "Kazekage-sama and Godaime-sama are standing right behind you."

"_Sabaku Kyuu!"_

Kotetsu whimpered as sand covered his entire body except for his head, effectively trapping his arms and legs. The sand coffin slowly turned and he looked into the angry faces of Tsunade and Gaara.

"Where is Kinabuhi-sama?" Tsunade asked, a vein pulsing in her temple.

"On the Festival grounds…probably…" the frightened man whispered.

"You left her alone?" Gaara asked calmly.

"N-no! Itsumo and Naruto are with her! Along with Temeki-san, Hinata, and Sakura!"

Tsunade gave her subordinate a hard glare and turned to the Kazekage. "Please, don't kill him," she asked. "I just finished breaking him in as an assistant. Don't make me go through that again."

Gaara nodded and replied, "Since I know how difficult it is finding competent help, I'll honor your request. But you might want to re-teach this one the value of _completing_ an assignment."

She nodded and smiled at Iruka. "Enjoy the last day of the Festival, Iruka-san," she said. She looked at Gaara and they started walking to the Festival grounds, Kotetsu floating behind them in the sand coffin.

"And they say that marriage mellows a man," a voice murmured behind Iruka. "He's even scarier when you know that he _won't _kill you right away."

"It gives you time to wonder what he's got planned," Iruka agreed. He turned around and smiled. "Kakashi! When did you get here?"

"Around the same time as the Kages," he answered. The silver haired jounin stared at the menu for a while before talking again. "You can be a real ass when you want to be, y'know that?"

"I know," Iruka answered, eating Kotetsu's forgotten ramen.

"So, are you planning on entering the water dunking contest?" Kakashi asked.

"Maybe. Who're the poor souls assigned to the chairs this year?"

"Gai, Anko, and Ibiki."

"I'm in."

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"Is that the Kazekage's woman?" a soft voice asked, watching the animated, purple eyed girl laughing and talking with a blue-eyed girl. The early morning sun shone on the identically dark heads of hair. At this distance, the girls looked more like sisters than mistress and handmaiden.

The man leaned against the shadowed wall of the alley and smiled. "Yes."

"She's surrounded by people."

"We'll get her alone somehow."

Cold black eyes met dark green ones.

"How?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and watched the group go from one Festival booth to the other.

"Something will turn up," he laughed. "I've always been lucky that way."

"If we catch her and she manages to escape, that monster will have our heads."

"Don't worry, my friend. She's merely the bait. The real prize will come soon enough."

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"What's that?" Kina pointed at a large tank of water that took up the entire back quarter of the Festival grounds. A wooden wall at least 15 feet high stood against the back of the tank. She noticed that there were three ledges set into the wall and that they were positioned in a way that no ledge was directly above or below another. "That wasn't there yesterday."

Naruto looked over at the tank and laughed. "That's for the water dunking contest, Kina-chan," he said.

"Water dunking?" Kina asked.

Sakura smiled and began to explain the game to Kina and Temeki.

"Naruto's talking about the old carnival game. You know, where you throw a bean bag at a target and dunk a person into a tank of water? A few years ago, Konoha modified the idea to better fit the abilities of ninjas. Instead of one target, there are three. Each one is smaller than the last and further away from the Start line as well."

"The contestants are given three kunai," Hinata continued. "You're supposed to throw them all at once. Three jounin are picked each year to sit on the ledges. If you hit the big target, the lowest ledge drops. If you hit the medium one, the second. And if you hit the smallest one, the highest ledge drops."

"And the jounin assigned to the ledges can't use jutsus to keep them from falling," Naruto finished. "It's a blast to watch!"

"Points are based on which targets you hit," Sakura added.

"Has anyone managed to hit all three?" Temeki asked, intrigued.

"No," Sakura answered. "But I'm sure that Sasuke could have done it."

"If he could bring himself to come off of his high horse and join us peasants, you mean," Naruto muttered.

"Naruto!"

"Y'know it's true, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled back. He couldn't take it. After a week of playing bodyguard and thinking about things, he couldn't keep his anger and frustration quiet anymore. Not with Sasuke so achingly close by to shout at.

"The high and mighty Uchiha would only show his face at the Welcome dinner and then would go into hiding for the rest of the Festival!"

"Naruto…" Sakura said calmly.

"They need to know! I need to explain this…_anger,_" Naruto shot back. "The Gods know, we've mentioned the _teme_ enough this week!"

Hinata nodded and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "He's right," she whispered, her pearly eyed gaze as hard as diamonds. "They need to hear this. Especially Temeki-san."

He turned to Kina and Temeki, but glared directly at the blue-eyed girl. "Sasuke was a friend of ours who thought he was better than us simply because of his family name and his circumstance," he began, bitterly.

"Well, Sakura's name is just as noble as his! His circumstances weren't any worse than mine! In fact, they were better! No one sold him rotten food and made sure that the only edible thing he could buy was crushed instant ramen. No one called him names and spat at his feet! So what made him so much better, so superior? What gave him the right to look down on us and Konoha?" the blonde snarled, fiercely.

"What gave him the right to slap our hands away and give us to ninja who were all too happy to _slaughter us _when all we wanted to to do was to call him our _friend_?"

"I've _bled_ for him," Naruto said. "Over and over again, I've bled for the bastard!"

He gestured to Hinata and Sakura. "Hinata and Sakura have bled for him. Neji and Chouji almost _died_ for him. Every one of us has sacrificed and fought for him to come back, to come home. We've done everything we could think of to show him that Konoha loves him and wants him back. And you know what? He doesn't even care."

Temeki was surprised by the anger and hatred in the other boy's voice. She looked over at Sakura and saw that the girl was nodding and agreeing to everything the _dobe _said. Temeki watched as tears slid down Sakura's face as the pink haired girl turned and slowly walked away.

She knew that when she was a boy—when she was _Sasuke—_she had hurt them, but she didn't know that they _hated_ him.

She felt the unexpected and unfamiliar feel of tears fill her eyes. She couldn't stand the look Naruto was giving her anymore, so she did the only thing she could do.

She turned and ran.

"Temeki!" Kina yelled out, following her.

"Naruto, go after them," Hinata said.

He blinked as he surfaced from his rage and turned to look at the girl.

"Naruto," she said, steel coating her voice. "Go after Kinabuhi and Sasuke."

"You know?"

"I've always known."

Shock showed in Naruto's eyes and slowed his reflexes. He couldn't dodge the fist that Hinata aimed for his shoulder.

"Snap out of it, dammit," she yelled. "And go after them, Naruto!"

Holding his shoulder, Naruto started running after the two girls. _If Hinata knows,_ he worried as he slid around the corner, _who _else_ does?_

00000000000000000

Gaara, Tsunade, and Kotetsu found Itsumo leaning against the wall next to the restrooms.

The vein in Tsunade's head pulsed harder as she asked, "Where is Kinabuhi-sama?"

Itsumo stood at attention at the Hokage's voice and answered without noticing the large sand coffin behind her. "Thank god you're here, Godaime-sama! They've been in there for almost fifteen minutes! Can you go in and see what's wrong?" he asked.

Tsunade shook her head and Gaara's frown intensified. They already had a good idea what was 'wrong,' but Tsunade went into the women's restroom just to make sure.

She came back out a few seconds later and slapped her clueless assistant upside the head. With her strength, the man flew three feet before he met the hard surface of Gaara's sand wall.

"You dumbass!" she yelled. "They snuck out the back! What kind of ninja are you that four girls and _Naruto_ managed to fool you like that!"

Gaara was about to trap the other idiot in a sand coffin next to his friend when a bloody Hinata ran up to them.

"Gaara-san, Tsunade-san!" she gasped as she held her hand to the wound in her side. "Someone's taken them!"

"Taken who?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara released the two hapless leaf nin from his sand. He was afraid he knew what was coming and didn't want his sand to react and accidentally kill one of the morons.

"Someone's taken Temeki, Naruto, and Kina-san!"

**

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A/N:**

Dun, dun, DUN!

Ok…time for some action! Unfortunately...I'm gonna be out of town for the weekend (Vegas, baby!) and unable to update until Monday. Sorry about that. But the wait will make everything better.

Oh, and about Naruto's rant...he had to take care of Temeki for an entire week...and Sasuke _ssssooooo_ needs to be yelled at! At least, that's how I feel.

**(1) **My friends always say the one trait of my mother's that they notice the most is the fact that she thinks everyone is hungry all the time. In high school, it was always: "Here, have some snacks." Now almost four years later, it's still the same.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not mine…la di da…oooh, if you wanna see the pic of Kakashi that makes me drool, it's on my profile.

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Chapter 16: Trapped in a Box with a Broken Lid

When Temeki woke up, she found herself face down on a dirt floor. She placed her hands in front of her and slowly pushed herself up and into a sitting position. She looked around her and saw Naruto unconscious on the floor. Crawling over to the leaf nin, Temeki gently shook his shoulder.

"Naruto," she whispered as she shook his shoulder. "Wake up, please."

Being helpless wasn't a feeling Temeki enjoyed. Ever since the jutsu last week placed her into this body, she couldn't mold chakra the same way she could in her old one. Temeki knew all of the right hand seals and incantations, but without the use of her chakra, she was pretty much worthless.

She tried to move the boy so that they could lean against the wall, but Naruto proved to be bulkier under his jacket than Temeki originally thought. She settled for placing the injured boy's head in her lap. She felt warmth pour onto her fingers and raised her hand to eye level.

Blood.

Temeki tried to remember what to do, but could only hold back her sobs as she tore at her skirt to bandage Naruto's head.

_Stupid girly hormones! _she thought. _Why am I acting like this _now

"Naruto, you can't die," she sobbed; the feeling of helplessness and being truly powerless for the first time since she could remember overwhelmed her. "I swear if you die here, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" She knew that she wasn't making sense, but didn't care. Sitting there in the dark room with the bleeding boy in her lap, Temeki thought about what Naruto had said and slowly came to realize something.

Before, when she was a boy, when she was Sasuke, Temeki sold her soul to Orochimaru for the power he could give her. All so that she could kill her brother and avenge her family.

But now that she was faced with the possibility that the boy in her arms could _actually_ die, Temeki wondered why she had gone to such extremes.

That day, by the waterfall, when Naruto had come to stop him from going to Orochimaru, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to kill the blonde.

In his heart, he didn't want his best friend to die.

Now, Temeki was willing to move heaven and hellto keep him safe. Her dream of killing Itachi seemed so cold and far away compared to the dream she now held in her heart.

She needed to protect her best friend with her life.

_Please, _she prayed. _Someone find us!_

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"Kotetsu, Itsumo," Tsunade said as she healed Hinata. "Summon Hatake Kikashi, Temari, Kankuro, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuuga Neji. Have them meet us behind the dunking tank. Tell Sakura and Temari to bring articles of Naruto and Temeki's clothing with them; preferably something that they've recently worn. Go, now!"

The two disappeared as they hurried to do the Godaime's bidding.

Hinata stood up and started walking to the back of the dunking tank. Gaara and Tsunade walking quickly behind her.

Ibiki, Gai, and Anko were surprised to see the Hyuuga Heiress, but even more so when she was followed by both the Hokage and Kazekage.

"What's going on?" Anko asked. "Hinata, you're bleeding!"

"What happened, Hinata?" Gaara demanded.

"Naruto-kun was arguing with Temeki," the girl responded. "Temeki got upset and ran away. Kina-san followed her and Naruto-kun followed _her_. I was going to wait a few minutes, in case they all needed to talk to each other, but then I heard Temeki-san scream. When I got there, Naruto-kun was fighting one of them while the other two held Temeki and Kina-san. They stabbed me and knocked Naruto-kun unconscious. I saw them run toward the Eastern gate before I passed out myself."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Kinabuhi didn't defend herself? She didn't fight back?" he asked.

"The Kazekage's Lady fight?" Hinata asked. "She would never—"

The sentence was cut short when Gaara's sand wrapped around the girl.

"Gaara!" the others shouted.

"Little liar," Gaara stated calmly, applying pressure to the girl. "Kinabuhi teaches taijutsu at the Academy back home. Next time, gather your intelligence with a bit more care before you spin a tale. Now, where _is_ she?"

The _henge_ disappeared and a laughing girl stood caught in Gaara's sand. "Like I'm going to tell a monster like you!" she spat. "Your Lady deserves a special place in hell for allowing a demon like you into her bed!"

At that moment, Kankuro, Temari, Sakura, Neji, and Kakashi came running towards them.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. Tsunade quickly gave them the details of what happened and looked at Gaara.

"Who are you?" he asked, coldly.

"Shinkirou Kori," Kankuro answered. He stepped up to the girl and scowled. "You and half of your clan were banished from Suna more than a year ago." (1)

"Ah, yes," Gaara recalled. "You dared to question my standing as Kazekage."

"Suna belongs to the Shinkirou Clan!" she shouted. "Not the Sabaku Clan!"

Asuma and Kurenai had heard only that Hinata was injured and ran behind the dunking tank to help. Gaara looked at the ruby eyed kunoichi and threw Kori at her.

"She is member of a Clan that was banished from Suna," he explained. "Their talents lie in genjutsus. Kurenai-san, I understand genjutsus are your specialty as well. Please detain her while we retrieve my wife."

He turned to Kakashi and raised his eyebrow. The silver haired man nodded and quickly summoned Pakkun. "We need you to trace these scents," he said. Sakura and Temari put pieces of cloth on the ground while Gaara removed Kina's braid from its hiding place behind his sash.

As the dog sniffed the articles, Gaara spoke quickly. "This is an A-rank mission for the Sand shinobi as well as a request for back up for the Leaf shinobi. A banished Suna Clan has kidnapped Kinabuhi. They now have her, along with Naruto and Temeki. They are skilled at genjutsus, so be on your guard and don't believe everything you see."

"Got it," the dog said and ran off towards the forest. The three Sand nin, Kakashi, Sakura, and Neji followed quickly after. They all listened intently as Gaara continued to give out orders.

"Temari, Kankuro, your jobs are to watch our backs and capture as many of the Clan members as possible. Sakura-chan, you're our medic—I have a feeling we'll need your talents very soon. Neji, Kakashi, I'll need your skills—Neji for your ability to close chakra holes, and Kakashi for your knowledge of binding jutsus. I'll need your help to control them if they get out."

"Who gets out?" Kakashi asked lazily.

The Kazekage looked at the Copy Ninja and frowned. "Their demons," he replied.

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Kina sat on a rock and watched helplessly as Temeki cried her heart out over Naruto's unconscious body. Her own heart ached when she realized that the other girl believed that the boy was severely injured, if not dead, instead of merely suffering from a blow to the head.

When she woke up, Kina had a brief glimpse of a small, dirt packed cottage before her powers kicked in and she saw through the genjutsu. Instead of a dirty cottage, she and the people who had kidnapped them sat in a quiet circle in the middle of a grassy field.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on expanding her 'vision'. When she opened them again, she realized that the field itself was under a genjutsu. Whoever passed by probably wouldn't see them unless they used the 'dispel' jutsu. Considering the fact that it was just an open field in the middle of a sunny day, no one would have any reason to do that at all.

Kina calculated in her head. She knew that she was under a genjutsu; Temeki and Naruto were in one, and the field they sat in as well. She was amazed. Multiple layer genjutsus were difficult to master and maintain. She shot a look at her captors from beneath her lashes.

_Seven, _she counted. _Too many for me to take out by myself._

Three of them had their hands positioned in various seals and seemed to be concentrating very hard.

Three genjutsus. Three people.

That meant that the number of enemies she had was down to four. _Four to one, _she thought. The odds weren't great, but if she could get to Temeki and Naruto maybe they could even them up a bit.

An idea came to her mind. But she totally rejected it as insane and unnecessary a moment later.

Kina brought her knees to her chest and buried her head in her skirts. She had to make sure that the people who took her and the other two still believed she was in the genjutsu. The only problem was that she didn't really know what the genjutsu _looked_ like. She didn't know how big the room was supposed to be or if there was any furniture in it.

_Think,_ she ordered herself. _Think!_

"How long do you think it will take her to crack?" one of the men asked.

"Not long," another, Kina thought this one might be the leader, said. "Look at how fast her handmaiden broke. _This _is the power of the Sabaku Clan? Once we are rid of that demon bastard, Suna will belong to the people who deserve it."

Kina realized that they were after Gaara and froze.

"The Shinkirou Clan will rise again," a third cried.

_Shinkirou_. _After today, your Clan will exist no more, _Kina vowed.

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"What do you mean 'their demons'?" Sakura asked.

"You know that I am the vessel for the raccoon-dog demon, Shukaku, right?" Gaara asked.

The others made noises that Gaara took as affirmatives and continued. "Naruto is the vessel for the kyuubi and Kina is the vessel for an _i-guru _demon." (2)

Neji and Sakura were stunned by the knowledge that Naruto was the vessel for the kyuubi, but tucked the information into the back of their minds.

_It sure explains a lot though,_ Sakura thought.

"_I-guru_?" Kakashi asked.

Gaara nodded. "Tsunade and I figured it out during the Festival. All of Kinabuhi's symptoms fit. The color of her chakra, the reasons why Akatsuki wants her…everything she described and everything I've seen points to her being the vessel of the eagle demon Tsubakiri." (3)

Temari gasped. "Are you serious?" she gaped.

"What's so bad about that?" Neji asked. "Apart from the obvious, of course."

"There's a legend in Suna," Kankuro answered. "One that's told to all of the children by their parents. In it, Shukaku and Tsubakiri ruled the desert together for a hundred centuries and the desert flourished under their care."

"Guess that explains why you and Kina got along so well so quickly," Temari said.

"Again," Sakura repeated. "That doesn't sound that bad."

"That's not the bad part," Kankuro continued. "The legend also says that another demon coveted Shukaku's land and his mate. The two battled for decades until Shukaku grew too weak to fight and disappeared to heal himself."

"Tsubakiri was angry and confused by her mate's disappearance and vanished herself," Temari added. "But not before trying to kill the demon who took Shukaku from her. When Shukaku returned and found his mate gone, he went a little insane. Suna is supposed to be cursed with discontent and hate until Tsubakiri returns."

The Konoha shinobi were silent, taking in the story they had just heard.

"You've mentioned Shukaku, the raccoon-dog demon, and Tsubakiri, the eagle demon," Kakashi started.

"Who was the third demon?"

Kankuro pushed up his speed so that he was alongside his brother. Temari did the same and the three Sand nin answered Neji's question together:

"Kyuubi kitsune."

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A/N: **

Uh-oh…Vegas was a blast, but I still managed to write some stuff on the trips to and from the city...

I just pray that I don't get writer's block before I finish this story…that would suck.

**(1) **_Shinkirou_ means 'mirage'.

**(2) **_I-guru_ means 'eagle'

**(3) **_Tsubakiri_ is a combined name I made up from _tsubasa_, which means 'wings', and _kiri_, which means 'mist.' So Kina's demon's name means 'wings of mist.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** Again…I don't own Naruto

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Chapter 17: Here and Now

_Think,_ Kina yelled at herself. _THINK!_

"This is taking too long," one of the Shinkirou men said.

"We need to break her faster," another agreed. "Kori probably informed the demon that she's missing already. Touka?"

The leader of the banished Suna clan, a tall, sandy-blonde man, stood up and nodded. "I'll take care of it."

Kina lay her head on her knees, letting the hair that had escaped her braids fall over her eyes. Using that as a cover, she watched as Touka went through the motions of opening and closing a door that wasn't really there.

_He must be in the genjutsu, too,_ she thought.

She saw him stand over Temeki and roughly grab her arm. Temeki yelled in pain and fought to remain by Naruto's side. The bigger man solved the problem of her squirming by lifting her over his shoulder. He opened another imaginary door and dropped Temeki on the floor in front of Kina.

"Why are you doing this?" Temeki sobbed. "What do you want with us?"

"It's not my fault," Touka said calmly. "I'm not the one who brought you and the boy into this."

"Why?" she asked again.

Touka pointed behind the girl to Kina. "Ask your Mistress," he said. "Unless she does what we want, the blonde brat dies." With that ultimatum, he walked through the imaginary door and sat down next to his companions.

Temeki turned to Kina and saw her hunched over herself. "Kina-san!" she yelled. She crawled toward the other girl and looked for wounds. "What do they want? Why do they want to hurt Naruto?"

Kina looked at her and Temeki was shocked at how dull her normally vivid purple eyes looked.

"I don't know," Kina finally answered.

"Kina-san," Temeki begged. "Say the code word."

Kina stared at her like she was insane. _She wants to transform into Sasuke?_ Kina gaped.

"No."

Temeki knelt in front of the other girl and grabbed her knees. "Please, Kina-san. Say the code word. It's the only way we can get out of here."

Kina was dimly aware of Touka and his gang talking among themselves.

"Code word?" one man asked.

"Maybe it will summon Gaara here," another said.

"Shut up, all of you," Touka demanded. "We'll see soon enough."

Kina knew that it was tempting, but she couldn't let Temeki transform. Tsunade had warned both her and Gaara that Orochimaru's spy network had been sniffing around Konoha more and more often lately. Letting Sasuke out would be the equivalent of placing a huge neon sign over their heads saying: "Here we are! Lookit! Lookit! Sasuke's _HERE_!"

"Kina-san, please!"

She brought her head up and looked sharply at Temeki. "No," she said, finality ringing in her voice. "I refuse to do something so rash and stup—is that blood? Are you injured?" she asked as she noticed the rag in Temeki's hand.

Temeki looked down at the bloodied rag and said, "Yes, it's blood. But it's Naruto's."

_It's Naruto's._

Before Kina could stop herself, she grabbed the rag and wrapped it around her own hand. She watched as the red liquid smeared her skin. Her eyes narrowed and her breath hitched as she slid into unconsciousness.

_And I said that I wouldn't do anything stupid…_

00000000000000000

Touka looked at the limp form of the Kazekage's woman and scoffed. "Look, Bado, not only is she weak of body, she's weak of stomach," he murmured.

Bado, an older, dark haired man, looked at the younger man and shook his head. "That she may be, Touka. But she is strong of will. We placed her in that genjutsu for almost thirty minutes. She refused to answer any questions we gave her and she didn't even acknowledge the screams of her two companions when we tried the echo torture genjutsu. She just sat there with her head in buried in her skirts."

"Let's try the echo torture again," Touka said.

"The Lady is unconscious."

"But the handmaiden isn't," he argued. "She's already been broken once. Perhaps she can persuade her mistress when she wakes up."

"Touka…" the only woman in the group said. "You've seen how the girl reacted when she saw the boy. She's just an innocent and we've done enough damage to her psyche. Is it worth this?"

He turned to his sister and slapped her hard.

"Suna is worth _anything!_" he yelled. "Now, _do it!_"

00000000000000000

Temeki watched in horror as Kina fell over onto the dirty floor of the cottage. (1)

"Kina-san?" she asked. She shook the girl's shoulder, but she seemed to be in a trance. "Not you too! Wake up, please. Wake up!"

She looked around the room. It wasn't any different than the room that man had dragged her from. It was bigger and had a table and a few chairs, but that was it. The only door was the one she had come through and there weren't any windows to climb out of.

_I don't even know if it's day or night,_ Temeki thought.

She placed the other girl in a more comfortable position on the floor. It was odd, Kina fainting that way. When she had found Sasuke by the river, she didn't hesitate to prod at his wound and sew it closed. Why should she faint at the sight of a bloody rag?

_And when did I start thinking of Sasuke as a completely different person?_ Temeki wondered. _I _am_ Sasuke!_

Temeki was brought out of her thoughts by a strange sound. Her head snapped up as she heard a groan come through the door to the other room.

"Naruto?" she asked.

The groan turned into a yell and the yell into a scream.

"Stop it!" she cried, running to the door. She pounded on it, but it was locked on the other side. "Stop it, he didn't do anything! _We_ didn't do anything!"

But the agonizing screams continued.

Temeki slid down the door and cried. Her gaze slid over to Kina's unconscious form, the beginnings of hate burning in her eyes.

_When you wake up Kina,_ she thought bitterly as Naruto screamed again. _You'd better tell them what they want._

00000000000000000

Kina was falling.

White clouds passed by her and the wind blew her hair and clothing every which way.

She looked down and saw nothing but more clouds.

What the hell? 

"So you've finally come, brat," a silky, but harsh, voice said.

She looked around, but there was no one there.

"Above you," the voice answered her silent question. "Foolish humans. You rarely look at what's above."

Kina looked up and gasped. A pale skinned woman with her purple eyes and matching purple hair hovered above her.

But this woman had black _wings_ coming out of her back and talons for hands and feet.

"Who are you?" Kina asked.

The woman/bird floated down and hovered in front of the girl. Kina noticed that she wasn't falling so much as _floating_ anymore.

"I am Tsubakiri," the woman answered. "The eagle demon trapped in your wretched body."

"Umm…" Kina murmured. She didn't know how this demon would behave. _Should I try to imagine her in a cage?_ Kina thought.

From her conversations with Naruto and Gaara, that might be the wise thing to do. But the woman was being nice…sort of.

The woman half-smiled. "There's no need to cage me, girl," she said. "I have no wish to take over your body."

"Why not?" Kina asked, oddly insulted.

The woman raised a talon and looked at a bead she held in it. "I have no reason to," she answered. "My reason for living is gone."

"Reason for living?"

"My husband," the demoness answered. "He is dead. Along with his murderer."

_Demons have husbands?_ Kina wondered.

_Yes, they have husbands, _a voice answered her silently. _They can have children too—if they're lucky._

"How…?" Kina asked.

Tsubakiri smirked. "We share the same body," she explained. "We have a tenuous connection to each other's mind…and each other's chakra."

At the mention of chakra, Kina perked up. "Can you help me then?" she asked. "Y'see, last year an asshole named Itachi bound up your chakra, but as I said…he's an asshole…so he messed it up and bound _my_ chakra too. Now we're in a little jam and we might die if I don't do something now, so can I have access to my chakra and a little of yours too?"

Tsubakiri stared at the girl for a while, assimilating the quickly spoken speech.

"That does not concern me," she said. "I do not care if I die."

"But you've got to!" Kina said. "Temeki and Naruto are counting on me! They already want to kill Gaara for being a so-called monster. But if Naruto wakes up, he'll be pissed. And then most likely he'll let Kyuubi out and—"

"KYUUBI?" the woman screamed.

Kina watched as the woman's hair became wild and her face twisted into a mask of pure hate. The claws on her talons sharpened and fangs grew from her mouth.

"He's alive?" the woman hissed.

Kina backed up a few feet and held her hand to her heart. "Sort of…" she answered.

"Explain!"

_Wow, she sounds like Gaara in a bad mood,_ Kina observed.

"Now!"

"He's like me—I mean us," Kina said. "Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto when he was a baby. Naruto, I mean, not the Kyuubi."

"He's alive," Tsubakiri repeated. She seemed to pace back and forth midair. "If I kill this Naruto, then Kyuubi will die too, right?"

"Umm…I think so."

"Forget what I said about not taking over your body," the demoness lunged at Kina.

Kina stepped to the side and automatically went into her battle stance. "Whoa!" she yelled. "Time out! What?"

"I need to kill Kyuubi," Tsubakiri growled. "I need to avenge my mate."

"Naruto's my friend! I can't kill him."

"You, my dear, will have no choice once I take over."

"If you kill Naruto, Gaara's gonna be pissed," Kina stalled as she evaded the eagle demon.

"As if I give a shit about Gaara's feelings," Tsubakiri yelled.

Kina blocked a punch and rolled underneath a talon. "You might not, but I do," she snarled. "Gaara cares for him a great deal. Naruto's the one who saved him. He helped Gaara realize that he could live a normal, happy life. Even though he has a demon like Shukaku inside him."

Tsubakiri froze so suddenly that she fell several feet before she gathered her wits and flew to where the girl hovered.

"What did you say?" she asked. "Did you say Shukaku? Shukaku's alive?"

"Yeah…he's in Gaara," Kina said, not letting her guard down. "You're in me and Kyuubi's in Naruto."

"How?"

"We're demon vessels," she answered as if the answer were obvious.

Tsubakiri looked sharply at the girl. "So here and now, you three hold each of us in your bodies and minds?"

Kina nodded and held up her hand. "And here and now, we're all friends."

"Which one have you picked for your mate?" Tsubakiri demanded. "With me in your subconscious, they would have been drawn to you and you to them. Which one have you chosen?"

"Gaara," she answered with no hesitation.

Tsubakiri nodded and held out a talon. "An accord then," she said. "I will release your chakra and give you access to mine. In exchange, I only ask to hold Shukaku when you sleep."

Kina nodded. It was no more than what she already did with Gaara. She held out her hand and winced when the sharp talon pierced her flesh.

"Deal."

00000000000000000

"They're here," Pakkun said, at the forest's edge.

"There's no one here," Kakashi noted. "Only a field."

"You must have gotten the scents wrong," Kankuro said.

"No," Sakura said. She stood up and waved her hand. "There's a genjutsu on the field. A big one."

"Sakura's right," Temari said.

The men turned to the two women and Neji asked, "How can you tell?"

"Kunoichi are naturally inclined to _feel out_ genjutsus," Sakura answered. She grabbed a few leaves and let them go. The wind blew them towards the field, but as soon as they reached the beginning of the grassy field, they disappeared.

"Neji," Gaara ordered. "Use your _Byakuugan_ and see what's going on."

The long haired teenfolded his hands into theMaster Sealand whispered, "_Byakuugan!_"

"Well?"

"There are ten people directly 20 meters in front of us," he answered. "Three of them are a bit separated from the others. Two are lying down on the ground and one is kneeling on the ground and seems to be crying."

Neji focused on the crying figure and inhaled sharply. "It's Temeki."

"So the two on the ground are Naruto and Kinabuhi," Gaara said quietly.

"Naruto's placed 10 feet from the women," Neji said. "I sense two other genjutsus at work."

"The Shinkirou Clan is known for its multi-layer genjutsus," Kankuro informed the others.

"There's something odd about Temeki," Neji whispered. "I can't place it. Her chakra's off."

"Focus on the other seven," Gaara barked. He didn't know if the Hyuuga could see through Temeki's disguise, but he didn't want to risk it.

"What are we going to do, Gaara?" Temari asked.

The answer was swift and unequivocal.

"We're going to take them back."

**

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A/N:**

The end is coming…I can see it! Wait…is that a sequel? Yes, no, maybe?

What do you guys think?

**(1) **Remember, Kina's not in the genjutsu, while Naruto and Temeki are.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** New episode of Naruto tonight! W00t! Oh, yeah…Naruto's not mine.

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Chapter 18: Demons, oy!

Kina's eyes fluttered open slowly. She sat up and looked over at Temeki. The girl was leaning against a wooden door. Only the door was semi-transparent and Kina could see Naruto, still unconscious, in the next room. She looked around and saw the Shinkirou gang still sitting where they were before. The only difference now was that she also saw a table and two chairs transposed over their bodies.

_What's going on?_ she asked Tsubakiri.

_I'm allowing you to experience both the genjutsu plane of existence and the real plane, _the eagle demon answered.

Kina could barely hear the screams coming from Naruto's room and knew that they had been torturing Temeki with them while she was unconscious.

"Temeki," she whispered.

The girl looked at Kina with bloodshot eyes. "You have to tell them, Kina-san," she cried. She ran to Kina and grabbed her hands. "You have to tell them what they want. Naruto's dieing in there!"

_Let me talk to the girl,_ Tsubakiri said. _I will calm her down._

Kina agreed and stood up. She took out her silver fan and flicked it open. The clueless idiots forgot to take her fans from her. She hid a smile behind the fabric. _Then again,_ she thought. _I never gave them a reason to._

Temeki frowned as Kina fanned herself and looked around the room.

_What is she doing?_ Temeki asked herself.

_She's looking for cracks,_ a soft voice said.

The girl wanted to shake. Was she hearing _voices?_

_Do not worry, _the voice said. _Kinabuhi has a plan._

_How can I trust that you're telling the truth?_ Temeki asked.

_You either trust Kinabuhi or you don't, Uchiha. But if you want Naruto to live, I suggest you do._

Temeki relaxed. She didn't know why, but she _did_ trust the purple-eyed girl.

Kina walked over to the table and chairs and plotted.

She couldn't just strike impulsively, she decided. The first thing she needed to do was dispel the genjutsus Temeki and Naruto were under. But she needed to know which Shinkirou controlled which illusion.

Kina turned in the direction of Naruto's screams. In addition to the echo torture illusion she and Temeki were hearing, Kina was sure that the blonde was under the influence of a sleep illusion.

As she made a move toward the door to Naruto's room, Kina pretended to trip on her skirt and stumbled against one of the "chairs".

_There!_ Kina saw Naruto's eyes blink twice before the ninja controlling the genjutsu regained her bearings and sat back up. She made a mental note of the girl and sat down on the other "chair."

"I'm so clumsy all of a sudden," she said.

She heard a grunt as the ninja whose head she sat on struggled with the unexpected weight. She felt him use his chakra to raise her butt off of his head a bit.

"Things will be alright, Temeki," Kina said, fanning herself. She looked across at the girl and noticed that the wall behind her flickered twice. Kina smiled and stood up. "Gaara will find us."

_Tsubakiri, _Kina said. _Tell Temeki to get ready to get Naruto and run._

As the demoness did as Kina ordered, the girl fell to her knees in a fake swoon.

"Kina-san?" Temeki asked.

"It's okay," she said, taking out her gold fan as well. "I'm just a little dizzy."

She noticed that the other ninja were tense. She hoped that they didn't suspect anything. Just in case, Kina positioned herself on one knee behind the two ninja posing as chairs and rested most of her weight on her left foot, which she planted firmly on the ground.

She quickly fanned herself for a few minutes. When the Shinkirou ninja relaxed once more, she snapped her fans closed and silently released their blades. She hid the blades in the folds of her skirt and waited for them to relax just a bit more.

"Are you alright, Kina-san?" Temeki asked.

She turned and smiled at the blue-eyed former Uchiha. "I will be as soon as you grab Naruto and run," she said.

Before anyone could react to her statement, Kina pulled out her fans and stabbed the blades into the ninjas in front of her. She had aimed for a spot between the second and third Cervical vertebrae, so the shinobi were dead before she even pulled the blades out.

The genjutsu of the cottage immediately disappeared and Kina rolled away from the Shinkirou gang. She rose onto one of her knees and held the blades in front of her.

"Get Naruto and run, Temeki!" she yelled. "NOW!"

Temeki blinked as the genjutsu dispelled itself and ran to the boy. "We have to go, now!" she said. She ignored Naruto's mumblings and hauled him up, fear for their lives giving her her old strength. She held the boy by one arm and started running to the edge of the field.

"How did you see through the genjutsu?" Touka demanded.

Kina smiled as she flicked open the fans, revealing their bladed edges, and rose into her battle stance. "That's my power, _boumei-nin._" (1)

"She's mine!" Touka ordered his men. _The bitch killed my sister!_ Touka cried in his mind. "You're dead woman."

She laughed as she felt Tsubakiri's chakra mixing with hers and smiled at the man with fanged teeth. "On the contrary," she said. "I feel very much alive."

Touka and the others watched in horror as the Kazekage's woman grew fangs and claws. Her hair escaped from its braids and flowed around her body. Purple chakra gathered around her and her eyes began to glow and took on a more tilted look with each passing second.

"No wonder the raccoon bastard married you," he whispered. "Monsters need other monsters, after all."

"'Raccoon bastard'?" Kina asked. "You're not referring to my husband, now, are you?" Her voice echoed throughout the field. It sounded as if two people were talking. Indeed, Tsubakiri's voice mingled with her own and gave her power.

Touka never had a chance to answer.

Faster than the others could see, Kina lunged at the man and sliced him with her fan from navel to ear. She retreated back to her original position and watched with a smile as the man's body fell to the ground in two pieces.

"Touka!" the other _boumei-nin_ shouted. They looked at the woman and grabbed their weapons.

"_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"_

Fierce, slashing winds attacked the men and they were forced back from Kina. She turned around and saw her Suna family as well as Kakashi and Neji. Temeki, Sakura, and Naruto were further behind them. The pink haired kunoichi's hands glowed green as she healed her friend and teammate.

She looked at Gaara and smiled.

"Kankuro," he calmly ordered. "Capture them."

The puppet master nodded and yelled out, _"Kugutsu no Jutsu!"_ The arms of his puppets reached out and wrapped around the remaining four Shinkirou Clan members.

"Gaara," Kina cried as she ran to her husband. Once she was in his arms, she crushed her lips to his, forgetting about her fangs. As his blood filled her mouth, she felt Tsubakiri's presence in her mind grow.

A gold/purple flash blasted the two lovers apart and everyone braced themselves as both Kina and Gaara began to growl and writhe on the grass.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked. He looked over at the fallen couple and felt Kyuubi roar in his cage. He grabbed his head and yelled to Kakashi, "Bind me! Kyuubi wants out!"

Kakashi was afraid something like this might happen and simply slammed his hand into the ground.

"_Oni-fuu: Kanashibari no Jutsu!"_ (2)

With Naruto safely bound by the jutsu, the others looked at Kina and Gaara, ready to bind them if they got out of hand.

Gaara looked the same. Except for the fact that his gourd had disappeared and that the sand from it was forming a long tail and pointed ears on the boy. His green eyes became almost translucent as he grew fangs and claws of his own. The blue and white Kazekage robes he wore billowed and stretched around his suddenly taller and more muscled frame.

Kina screamed as she positioned herself on her knees. She felt her back itch and felt the kimono she wore rip as beautiful purple/black wings tore through the muscles of her back. Her hair grew even longer as it whipped around her body. She stood up and looked down at the tattered remains of her kimono.

_I liked that outfit,_ she pouted.

"Tsubakiri," a dual toned voice called out.

Kina looked up and saw Gaara, but not Gaara.

"Shukaku," she whispered. Well, Tsubakiri whispered it. The demoness was using Kina's vocal chords, so she had no choice but to allow Tsubakiri control for now. As long as she didn't hurt anyone.

Shukaku/Gaara walked up to Tsubakiri/Kina and smiled.

"Where the _hell_ have you been, woman?" he asked before he kissed her.

Neji smirked and relaxed his stance. The two demon vessels ignored everyone else and kept kissing each other.

"I guess that means that they won't be hurting anyone," Sakura muttered.

Naruto stared at the two and yelled at Kyuubi in his mind.

_See?_ he asked the demon fox. _They're together again. Not only as demons but as _humans_! You've lost!_

_I will have her,_ Kyuubi snarled from behind the gate of his prison. _You could have her if you wanted._

_I don't want her,_ Naruto answered. _We're friends now. So give it up!_

Naruto felt Kyuubi subside, but knew that he would have to give the huge furball a major talking to once everything was back to normal. He knew from experience that the demon fox would grow disinterested and bored after a while. It was only Kyuubi's issues with the past that made him act up. He'll give it up.

Naruto would make sure of it.

The remaining members of the Shinkirou Clan watched in wonder at the sight of the two demon manifestations.

"Tsubakiri," the eldest, Bado, gasped. "She's returned."

Tsubakiri/Kina pulled away from Shukaku/Gaara and looked over at the captured nins.

"What should we do with them?" she asked.

Shukaku/Gaara shrugged and answered, "They are from _your_ Clan, Tsu-chan. Sabaku is mine. I have no care for what you decide."

She ran her purple gaze across the faces of the men and frowned. "You are of the Shinkirou Clan?"

Bado nodded.

"Why did you attack me and seek to destroy the one called Gaara?" she demanded.

"Suna belongs to the Shinkirou Clan," the youngest of the prisoners yelled. "The Sabaku Clan only brings death and monsters to Suna!"

"A zealot," Shukaku/Gaara sighed. "How they annoy me…"

Tsubakiri/Kina stepped away from her husband and faced the captives. She folded her right wing over her shoulder and let its wingtip cover her right eye.

"The Sabaku Clan is the lifeblood of Suna," she replied. "The Shinkirou Clan was created by the Sabaku and exists only because of them. A mirage cannot be formed without the desert. Neither can the Shinkirou exist without the Sabaku. That is how it has always been. Surely you have been taught this." (3)

"Lies!" the youth shouted as he struggled. "Shinkirou is beauty while Sabaku is death!"

"Wrong," Tsubakiri/Kina corrected. "Sabaku is infinity—devoid of time, enmity, or malice. _Shinkirou_ is death—escape it and find peace or remain within it and die. _That_ is Suna."

"Tsubakiri-sama!" Bado pleaded. "I beg your forgiveness! I was weak and foolish…"

"Yes, you were," she answered simply. "And what of you two? Do you repent?"

The other two Shinkirou shook their heads, defiant even in the face of their Clan's demon matriarch.

Her eyes narrowed and she growled.

"Very well. My decree is this: for the old man, I grant you the gift of peace. For the others, I give the gift of death. The _Shinkirou_ has decided."

Tsubakiri/Kina snapped her wing back over her shoulder. Four feathers flew from the limb and impaled themselves in the middle of each man's forehead.

Shukaku/Gaara laughed and hugged the eagle demoness from behind. "I thought you granted the old man peace?" he asked.

Tsubakiri/Kina nodded and answered, "I did."

"I'm really late, aren't I?"

She laughed and nodded again. "As much as I enjoy seeing you in the flesh, Shu-kun, Kina and Gaara's bodies won't be able to sustain us for long."

"You're right," he sighed. Shukaku/Gaara looked up and gave a wicked smile. "See you tonight?"

"Of course," she answered before closing her eyes. Kina felt Tsubakiri withdraw and knew that Shukaku was retreating from Gaara as well.

Neji and Kankuro barely made it to them in time before the two teens fell to the ground unconscious.

**

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A/N:**

Okay…last two chapters coming up! Wow, this is the fastest I've finished a fanfic _ever!_ Must be because I love Gaara so much! .

**(1) **_boumei-nin _means "exiled person"

**(2) **_Oni-fuu_ means "demon seal" and _kanashibari no jutsu_ is the body freeze technique most ANBU members know.

**(3) **The literal translations for _Sabaku_ and _Shinkirou_ are 'desert' and 'mirage.' So Tsubakiri is being quite literal in explaining Suna politics to the young man.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto…end of story...not the end of _this_ story! Not yet! Just the end of the story where I don't own Naruto...argh!

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Chapter 19: Announcements

Kina woke up in the bed she shared with Gaara in the apartments they had in Konoha. She blinked sleepily as she remembered what had happened. A warmth against her back caused her to turn and look down at her sleeping husband.

_He really does look like a panda, doesn't he?_

Kina smirked and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

_Don't you dare tell that to Shukaku,_ she told her demon. _Gaara's kind of sensitive about that._

_Gaara's sensitive about a lot of things people don't expect,_ the eagle demon replied.

_Yeah, he is._

Kina tried to get up to change her clothes, but arms suddenly came around her body and pulled her onto a warm chest.

"Not yet," Gaara murmured.

"I have to bathe and brush my hair," the girl pouted. "It's all tangled."

"Hn."

"Gaara, I mean it. It's grown at least a foot again. Let me go or I'll cut it!"

The boy's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up. "I'm awake!"

"Good," Kina smirked. "Now you can wash my hair."

They had just settled themselves in the warm water of the apartments' bathing pool when Naruto, Kankuro, Temari, and Temeki strolled into the area from a side door.

Naruto immediately closed his eyes and yelled out, "I didn't see anything!" The others just sighed and turned around.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked as he gently dunked Kina underwater to wet her hair.

Temeki grabbed Naruto's shoulder and spun the boy around so that his back was to the couple.

"We just came by to see how you were doing," Temari said.

"We're fine," Kina said. "Just rumpled."

"And hungry," Gaara added.

"Well, everyone's okay after that incident with the Shinkirou," Temeki said.

"Except Naruto's got a bump the size of a grapefruit."

"Nah, Kankuro," Temari said. "That's his head."

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Temari said. "We've received word from the new Head of the Shinkirou Clan and they all swear loyalty to you, Gaara. They don't want any trouble."

"There won't be if they behave themselves," Gaara said.

"_That_ sounds like Gaara," Naruto said, relief evident in his voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were talking in your sleep about getting funky with Tsubakiri," Temari laughed.

"Kina talked in her sleep, too," Kankuro said. "Something about 'pleasurable punishment for Shu-kun's absence.'"

"You were making enough noise to wake the dead, but your bodies weren't moving," Naruto added. "We were getting kinda worried that you guys were in a kinky demon coma or something."

"WHAT?" Kina and Gaara shouted. They were both red from the neck up; and it wasn't due to the heat of the bath.

"You were asleep for two days," Temeki explained.

"Two days?" Kina asked. "That makes today's date August 30, right?"

"Actually, it is August 31," Kankuro corrected.

"Oh, shit," the girl swore.

"Kina-chan," Gaara started. "Why are you so concerned with the date?"

Kina sank down in the water until it covered her mouth. "Blb bb bllirbbbeell," she replied.

Gaara sighed and brought Kina's head out of the water. "Say that again?"

"It's my birthday," she repeated.

Gaara's eyes widened and he smiled. "How old are you anyway?"

"Fourteen."

"We should have a party then, shouldn't we?" Temari said.

"Take care of it," Gaara ordered. "And make sure to get a live band. The one from the Welcome dinner would be good. And a dance floor—a big one."

"Sure thing," she answered. The others followed her into the house.

Gaara looked down at his mate and gently hugged her. "Happy Birthday, Kina-chan."

00000000000000000

Temeki stood across from Tsunade, Jiraiya, Morino Ibiki, and Hatake Kakashi. She would rather have faced an army of angry shinobi than the quartet in front of her. She felt the presence of Gaara, Naruto, and Kina behind her and gladly accepted their silent support.

Kakashi and Ibiki were puzzled by the summons from the Hokage. They thought that the meeting would be about a treaty between Konoha and Suna or the ramifications of Kina being a demon vessel. Neither jounin expected to see the timid young handmaiden of the Kazekage's wife standing before them now.

"Naruto," Tsunade said, looking at the blonde. "You, Gaara, and Kina may proceed."

The three demon vessels surrounded Temeki and quickly formed a barrier that trapped her within it. They held their hands in protective hand seals as they cried in unison: "CD!"

Kakashi and Ibiki watched as Temeki fell to the ground and screamed in pain. After a few moments, she stood back up, but the body that they saw was different. The face was different.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Ibiki said. Kakashi remained silent.

"I'm sorry to keep his presence in Konoha a secret," Tsunade began. "But when the Kazekage arrived with Sasuke in his possession, the timing couldn't have been worse. The Festival was about to start and Kazekage-sama was here for the sake and safety of his wife, Kinabuhi."

"How did they capture him?" Kakashi asked calmly, his hands fisting themselves in his pockets.

"I was injured by my brother," Sasuke spoke for the first time. It was strange being in his old body. His shoulder, where Orochimaru's seal was, ached and he reached up to rub it.

"Why not just imprison him?" Ibiki said. "I could have interrogated him."

"And get out of participating in the dunking contest?" Tsunade laughed. "I don't think so."

"The real reason for allowing the Uchiha boy to wander around Konoha during the Festival is a simple one," Jiraiya said.

"Indeed," Tsunade agreed, serious once more. "Uchiha Sasuke once left Konoha because he believed that the village was weak and he could not grow stronger here. He didn't share the same love of this village that the strongest among us feel. The week of the Festival, Sasuke saw our village as it is. By masquerading as Kinabuhi-sama's handmaiden, he saw the village for the first time with the eyes of an adult."

"Now that he has…what happens?" Kakashi asked.

"That's up to him," Tsunade said. "Well, Sasuke?"

Sasuke took a breath and looked at the Hokage. "Konoha is a beautiful and strong village," he said. "The strength of will of the shinobi here is strong. But I don't think that I can return to the village."

"What?" the question came from Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi. Ibiki remained silent, but watching.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and felt confident that the other boy understood. They had had a long talk after the kidnapping and Sasuke could now honestly call Naruto his best friend.

"I love Konoha," he explained. "But I need to get stronger. I still need to kill my brother."

"So you're still bent on revenge?" Tsunade asked, disappointed.

The boy shook his head. "Not revenge," he said. "But because he _needs_ to be killed. As long as he's alive, as long as Akatsuki is still around, Naruto, Gaara, and Kina are in danger. I need to kill him to protect my precious people."

"Why can't you get stronger here?" Ibiki asked.

"Because here, I'll always be 'Sasuke,'" Sasuke answered. "I'll always be the last Uchiha. I've let that go to my head enough."

"Uchiha Sasuke needs to disappear. Not only because I need to train in a place where no one knows me, but also because where he is, Orochimaru will go. I can feel the seal he gave me burning even now. But when I'm Temeki, when I'm in _that_ body, the seal disappears."

"You're volunteering to remain in a female body?" Ibiki questioned.

Sasuke nodded. "Until my will gets stronger," he answered. He looked at his ex-sensei and asked a question of his own. "The seal you put on Orochimaru's was broken when I left. If you put it back and I become Temeki, will it be dormant until my will _truly_ becomes stronger?"

"It depends on you," the gray haired jounin replied. "You succumbed to the seal once. You could do it again."

"Not if I get stronger on my own. If I train in a place where I know I'll get stronger without the seal."

"Where do you propose you go to 'get stronger'?" Kakashi asked.

"A place where good shinobi live," he answered. "But who also have dark sides to them that help them in battle. A place where I'll constantly be challenged and pushed and not coddled because I'm the last of my Clan."

"Where?"

Sasuke looked over at Gaara and caught his slight nod. He then looked over at Kina and noticed her small smile. Finally, he looked at Naruto and heard him whisper: "Go for it."

The Uchiha straightened his shoulders and addressed the four Konoha shinobi.

"Suna."

Tsunade sat quietly for a moment. She stared hard at the boy and nodded. She stood up and put her hand on her hip.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she said, power flowing in her voice. "As punishment for your betrayal of Konoha, you are sentenced to six years of exile in the Hidden Village of Sand. There, you will be the ward of the Kazekage. During those six years, you will not enter Konoha as a ninja or as a missing nin, but as a civilian or as a Sand nin. Whether the Kazekage will grant you that rank is up to him, but as of this moment you are neither a leaf nor missing nin. Naruto?"

The blonde nodded and the three demon vessels said the code word.

When Sasuke stood, he was once again Temeki.

Tsunade smiled and strode up to the girl. She held out her hand and said, "I wish you the best of luck…um…Temeki." (1)

"What _is_ your last name?" she asked.

Everyone looked unsure for a few moments until Kina snapped her fingers and grabbed Temeki's arm.

"I just remembered that I haven't introduced you all properly yet," she said.

"Ladies and Gentleman," Kina said, pulling Temeki forward. "I'd like you all to meet my sister, Yawa Temeki."

Everyone nodded politely while Gaara looked at his wife in astonishment. She smiled at him and winked. His face broke out into a smile and he started to laugh. (2)

Naruto scratched his head. "I don't get it," he said. "What's so funny about a late night tea party?" (3)

The comment only made Gaara laugh louder and Tsunade started too, when she realized what the joke was. Soon, tears were pouring down both the Hokage and the Kazekage's cheeks as their laughter turned into howls.

The only answer that the others got was Tsunade gasping, "Yawa…Teme…Ki…" (4)

Kina's lips began to twitch as well and laughter bubbled from her like a fountain. "Hehehehehehe…"

Temeki tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?" she asked. "What's so funny?"

"If I tell you," Kina gasped. "You'd kill me."

"It's mostly Naruto's fault anyway," Gaara said, leaning against his wife.

"Why's that?" Tsunade said, sitting on her desk.

"He's the one who named her 'Temeki'," Gaara and Kina answered together.

That only set the three of them off again.

Naruto and Temeki looked at them and shook their heads.

"Hey, Temeki," Naruto asked. "Wanna go get some ramen?"

"You paying, dobe?" she asked.

"Yep. Ero-sennin, Kakashi, you can come too!"

Kakashi nodded and Jiraiya frowned at being called perverted.

"Ibiki-san," Naruto said. "You can come, if you want."

The scarred man shook his head and frowned at the laughing lunatics lying on the linoleum. "Someone needs to watch them," he muttered.

"Okay!" The quartet left Tsunade's office and headed toward Ichiraku.

Ibiki was silent for a while before he asked, "What does 'Yawa' mean that makes Temeki's name even funnier than it already is?"

Kina smiled up at the man and said, "In my language, 'Yawa' means 'demon.'"

He took the information in silently. Then he nodded and the three on the floor froze in horror as maniacal laughter filled the room.

"He's even scarier than you," Kina whispered to Gaara, who only nodded.

"Way, way, _way_ scarier."

"And he works for _me_?"

00000000000000000

"Sorry we couldn't tell you Kakashi," Temeki apologized. "Naruto wanted to tell you both, but I didn't think that you could handle it."

"Look at me," Kakashi said. "I'm handling it. Sakura is a different story though."

The two nodded and continued walking.

"Temeki, I've been meaning to ask you something," Jiraiya said.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"This is something only you can answer, since you're the only one I know who has gone through the experience and won't kill me at once."

_Probably has to do with Orochimaru and the seal,_ Temeki thought.

"Okay, shoot," she said.

"What's it like to suddenly grow a pair of breasts? And what wonderful breasts, too!"

Two fists plowed into the old man's stomach, while two voices cried:

"_**ERO-SENNIN!"**_

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A/N:**

Okay, done…19 chapters…whoo!

Chapter 20 coming up!

**(1) **Ever notice how when Tsunade is in "Hokage-mode" she says everyone's full names?

**(2) **_Yawa_ means 'demon' in Cebuano

**(3) **_Yawa_ in Japanese translates to 'night talks' or 'evening tea parties'

**(4) **_Teme_ means asshole…_ki _means 'power' or 'spirit'…mix that with the Cebuano translation for _yawa_ and Sasuke's new name means 'demon asshole power' or 'spirit of the demon's asshole'…see the funny?


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** For the last time! I don't own Naruto!

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Chapter 20: Going Home

"Holy shit! What did you girls buy?" Kankuro yelled.

The puppet master pointed to the carts that were harnessed to three of the Suna horses and shouted more gibberish.

Kina walked out of the guesthouse and stared at her brother-in-law. "What _are_ you shouting about, Kankuro?" she asked.

"I think he's complaining about the horses pulling so many carts," Gaara answered.

Temari and Temeki frowned at the still ranting shinobi. "We needed to buy some clothes for Temeki-chan," Temari explained.

"As well as some new weapons and other things," Temeki added, blushing a bit at the 'other things.' _Why do girls have to use such tight chest bindings? _she asked herself.

"But there are two extra carts than when we came here!" he yelled. "Not one…_two!_"

"We might've bought a few other things as well," Kina said, scratching her arm.

"Like what?"

"Oh, you know. A few essentials that we need back in Suna. A few bolts of cloth, some weapons, new scrolls, bodyarmorandtennewextradurableattackdummies," Kina said.

The purple face paint above Kankuro's right eye twitched a bit as he said; "Care to repeat that at a slower pace, Kina-chan?"

Kina laughed nervously and repeated herself. "A few bolts of cloth, some weapons, new scrolls, body armor and ten new extra durable attack dummies."

Naruto came up to the house just as Kina finished her sentence and whistled. "The ones that Iruka-sensei ordered for the Academy?" he asked.

Kina nodded and prayed that the boy would stop at that.

"Those suckers are heavy!" the blonde said, ignorant of Kina's prayer.

The twitch came again. "Heavy?" Kankuro asked.

"Yup! I helped bring them to the Academy, y'know! I don't know how you're supposed to attack in them, but since the body armor is for teaching the kids how to aim at moving targets, that's probably what the designer was going for."

"Body armor?" Gaara asked. "I thought you were talking about the attack dummies."

Kina closed her eyes and prayed really hard that Naruto would shut up.

"What? No!" Naruto was silent for a moment and Kina opened her eyes and sighed.

"Those dummies are easily ten times heavier!"

_Great,_ Kina thought. _Please don't let him mention the other thing in front of Kankuro!_

"Kina-chan," the boy started. "Iruka-sensei sent me over here to see if you got the scrolls he ordered for you. They were supposed to be brought in this morning. He said something about them being really helpful with teaching kids."

"No, they haven't arrived yet," Kina said. _Please don't arrive until after we've gone!_

"That's not like Kotetsu-san and Itsumo-san," Naruto said. "They usually—hey! There they are!"

God was obviously not listening to any of Kina's prayers today.

"Kinabuhi-sama!" Kotetsu yelled, pulling a cart loaded with scrolls along with Itsumo. "Here are the scrolls you wanted!"

Kankuro looked at the cart filled with scrolls—some of which were taller than Kina herself—turned to his much beloved sister-in-law and promptly began shouting at her.

"Four carts is too much! The horses can't take the weight…what about the harnesses? They could easily break! Damn women buying every damn thing in sight…we have shops in Suna too, y'know…there's probably no room left for _my _stuff! Kinabuhi, why can't you have all of this delivered to Suna later?"

Kina waited until Kankuro's rant died down before starting a rant of her own.

"Four carts is _not _too much! The horses can _too_ take the weight! They're Suna horses after all. The harnesses have been strengthened and reinforced. We _damn _women wouldn't have to buy every _damn_ thing in sight if Suna had some decent shops! I packed your stuff in the original cart next to Gaara-kun's. There is no way I can have everything delivered to Suna in time for the new Academy semester and _there is no damn way that I'm going to tolerate another shuriken throwing, psychopathic, sadistic, crazy eight year old trying to bury one in my ASS!"_

"…"

"Um…you go Kina…?" Temeki cheered in a soft voice.

Kotetsu and Itsumo, used to the outbursts and temper of Tsunade, calmly ignored the shouting woman and harnessed the scroll cart to Kankuro's horse.

"Nightsmoke," he whimpered. "There's no way that I can ride him while he drags that thing behind him."

"So ride with Temeki," Kina said as she mounted Gaara's stallion Windrider. "She can't really ride that well anyway."

Both Kankuro and Temeki opened their mouths to object, but then Gaara gave them a cold glare.

"Yes, Kina-chan," they both said meekly.

Gaara mounted behind Kina and wrapped his arms around her waist. He waited as Temari got on her horse and laughed as Temeki and Kankuro argued over who should sit in front.

"You don't even know how to control a horse properly," Kankuro said.

"And I don't want to spend the entire trip with my arms holding onto your smelly, sweaty back," Temeki shot back.

"Either figure it out soon or both of you will end up walking and leading the carts," Gaara threatened.

Kankuro nodded and threw Temeki onto the saddle. He jumped onto the horse and sat behind her.

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro each took the lead line of one of the harnessed horses while Naruto took the fourth.

When they got to Konoha's main gate, a small crowd of people was already gathered.

"There's Sakura," Kina said. "And Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Ino, Kiba, Chouji…Gaara-kun everyone's here to say goodbye!"

Temari frowned. "Everyone but Shikamaru," she corrected. She felt a bit hurt by that. _The idiot probably forgot that I was leaving today._

"Mina-san!" Kina smiled. "You all came!"

"Of course," Ino said. "Thanks to you guys, this was one of the best Summer Festivals ever!"

"Yeah, right," Gaara muttered.

Hinata shook her head. "No!" she corrected. "Ino's telling the truth! You all made this Festival one to remember!"

"I mean," Kiba said. "How many times do you get to see the Kazekage tango?"

"Or be nice to almost everyone?" Tenten added.

"Not to mention watching you spend almost 30 ryou on a game to win a stuffed panda for Kina-chan," Chouji mentioned.

Gaara flushed at the reminder of that dumb panda.

"Seriously, that was the rattiest stuffed panda I've ever seen," Ino said.

"Hey!" Kina laughed. "I love my Mr. Panda Man!"

"We should get going soon," Kankuro sadly reminded. "We need to get past the forest before dark."

Gaara nodded and turned his horse toward the path. A loud whinny from behind them caused everyone to turn around.

Temari's eyes widened as Shikamaru came barreling down the street on top of a huge black stallion. "Oi! Stop running, you stupid horse! I said STOP!"

Shikamaru managed to get the horse under control and handed a scroll to Gaara. "The Hokage told me that you have to read this before you left," he informed Gaara.

Gaara took the scroll and began reading it.

Temari moved her horse next to Shikamaru's and smiled nervously. "I thought you forgot," she said.

Shikamaru shook his head and tightened his hold on the reigns when he felt the stallion's muscles tense beneath him. "Hokage-sama called me this morning," he explained. "I have a long term mission scheduled."

Temari's smiled dimmed a bit at the news. Long-term missions usually meant that any communication that the shinobi involved sent out was supposed to go to their home village only. Also, all messages were supposed to be outgoing. There was to be no paper trail that led to the shinobi.

She already had to deal with a long distance relationship with the Nara boy. She didn't know if she could handle being completely cut off from him.

Gaara and Kina had finished reading the scroll. He bit down on his thumb and placed his bloody thumbprint on a space next to the Hokage's insignia. He turned to Temari and interrupted the couple's conversation.

"I accept the terms," he said, giving the scroll to the other boy.

Shikamaru nodded and handed the scroll to Chouji. "Take that to the Hokage, Chouji. And take care of my spot for me."

"Naruto, give Shikamaru the lead line to the last cart," Gaara said.

"But Shika-kun has a mission!" Temari said, being extremely obtuse for once.

Shikamaru took the leather rope and smirked. "Troublesome woman," he said. "Suna _is_ my mission."

"Nani?" she asked, dumbly.

"I'm to live there for half of the year. I'm Konoha's ambassador, so to speak," he explained. His gaze traveled to Temeki and paused for a moment before he looked up at the sky. "It's troublesome, but there are matters I have been ordered to keep an eye on. I'll be back in Konoha in the spring, but until then it seems that Suna will be my home."

"Oh," Temari said. "Where will you live?"

"In the Kazekage's Mansion," Gaara answered as he kicked his horse forward. He looked at his sister and her boyfriend for a long moment and waited for them to blush. "I trust that is acceptable?"

The two nodded and followed the Kazekage.

Kina smiled and snuggled into her husband. Everyone was silent for the first hour of the trip when Kina suddenly spoke.

"How long will it take before they start planning for their wedding?" Kina whispered.

"Hopefully they'll wait until after we have ours," Gaara answered.

Kina looked back at Gaara and gasped. "You mean we're not married?" she asked mockingly.

"You know we aren't, Kinabuhi."

"So are you asking me to marry you, Gaara?"

"…Hn."

Kina frowned and turned forward again. "As proposals go, that one sucked," she said.

Gaara sighed and turned Kina back towards him.

"Kinabuhi," he said, looking into her eyes. "Before I met you, I was a mess. Even after I met Naruto and fought him, I was a mess. I didn't know what to do. My old way of living was pointless and even though I had my brother and sister, something was missing. I was still lonely. I still didn't have something to come home to when missions were over. All I had was an empty room waiting for me."

Kina stayed silent as Gaara caught her hand in his and kissed the rings on her third finger.

"Then I met you and something changed. As I was getting to know you and finding out about you, I found something else. It was the something that was missing from before."

"A-and what was that?"

"Myself," he answered. "When I found you, I found myself. And in loving you, I learned to love myself. This sounds extremely ludicrous coming from me and if Naruto or Kankuro found out, they would tease me forever. But you are the missing part of me. You're what keeps me sane and you're what makes me laugh."

"I love you and I want you to be my wife. For real this time, not as a mission. Kinabuhi, will you marry me?"

Kina smiled up at Gaara and locked her arms around his neck. "Yes!" she yelled. "I love you, too! So much…"

Gaara smiled softly at the girl in his arms and lowered his head to kiss her.

Behind them, Temari accepted Shikamaru's handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

"You're going to tease him forever for this, aren't you?" she asked her boyfriend.

The shadow user smirked. "You bet," he replied. "Just don't expect me to sound so poetic and sappy when I ask you."

Temari's head came up and she stared as her boyfriend turned red as he realized what he said. "And _are_ you going to ask me, Nara Shikamaru?"

"Ah…I…you see…"

She scowled and urged her horse forward to congratulate the couple. "Men!" she grumbled.

Kankuro was smiling softly at Kina and his brother when he heard a strange noise come from the girl in his arms.

"You're not _crying_ are you?" he asked in shock.

Temeki hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks and coughed into her hand. "Of course not!" she scoffed. "I was just gagging at all of the drivel that Gaara was spewing."

Kankuro smirked and nodded slowly. "Uh-huh…sure you were."

Temeki straightened her spine and coldly replied, "If that's what I said I was doing, then that was what I was doing."

"I'm not arguing with you, Temeki-chan," Kankuro laughed. "I'm not arguing with you at all!"

Kina pulled away from Gaara and watched as Temeki somehow pushed Kankuro off of the horse.

"Temeki, teme!" the puppet master yelled. "I'm gonna get you back for that!"

Temeki laughed and yelled back. "Just you try, Kankuro-_niisan_! Just you try!"

Gaara sighed and Kina laughed. "_That's_ your family?" she asked.

Gaara joined in her laughter and turned to look behind them. Temari was behind them followed by Shikamaru. The former looked slightly pissed, while the latter sported a blush that would put Hinata's best one to shame. Temeki proudly rode Nightshade while a dusty and cranky Kankuro walked a few paces behind her, muttering the whole time.

"That's _our_ family, Kinabuhi," he corrected.

Kina nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "Our family."

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A/N:**

Done! Ha! Too sappy? Well, too bad! I like sappy endings!

I'm writing a sequel to this, so be sure to read it! It's gonna be called "Something To Come Home To" and will star Temeki in the lead! Yay!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and who read this story! I had a blast writing it! Later!


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